


The Last One Standing

by EmeraldWriter, Scarpath



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Underfell (Undertale), Anxiety, Coping, Depression, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Lots of Crying, M/M, Mental Breakdown, Multi, Near Death, Near Death Experiences, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Overworking, Panic Attacks, Self Confidence Issues, Self-Hatred, Separation Anxiety, Social Anxiety, Soul Bond, Soul Touching, Soul healing, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt, Underfell Papyrus (Undertale), Underfell Sans (Undertale), Undertale Genocide Route, Undertale concept of Falling, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, emotional wreck, universe hopping
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:41:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 22,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24486805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmeraldWriter/pseuds/EmeraldWriter, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scarpath/pseuds/Scarpath
Summary: Walking alone in the peaceful silence would have been a serene stroll if it weren't for the dust in the air.Alone; the chill of solitude had long crept up in his soul for so long that he's become numbed to it. What else did he have to live for? Everyone was gone. He didn't have a reason to continue to exist and quite honestly, he should have been dead a long time ago.EmeraldWriter: SansScarpath: Red, Fell(More characters to be added with more chapters)
Relationships: Fellcest, Fontcest - Relationship, Kedgeup - Relationship, Kustard, Papyrus/Sans (Undertale), Sans/Sans (Undertale)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 74





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is in Rp Format  
> So '----' will be made per switched POV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So it begins...

Trapped. Red was trapped in a bad situation, and he had no idea how he was going to get out of this one. Apparently someone had offered Chillby enough money to have him drug Red’s mustard. The drug made his magic churn and he felt so warm. He suspected that it was a heat-inducing drug with a nasty side effect of magic disruption.

Not willing to risk teleporting when he might not end up where he planned, Red had desperately tried to scurry his way home. He had been intercepted halfway there by some of the dogs. They had bound him and dragged him to where a large number of the Snowdin pack was waiting.

“This should be enough to break that fool Edge. Clearly he cares too much about you, Red. I wonder how he’ll react when we drop you off raped and broken.” 

_ Shit! _ Red had been kidnapped to be used against his brother. It was something the two of them had worried about for years. The dogs had finally figured out that the hate between Red and Edge was orchestrated. 

But what could Red do in this situation? He was just a one hp monster, the only thing he had going for him was his magic. With the drug messing with his magic, Red was pretty much helpless.

When the dogs reached for the collar Edge had given him, Red decided to risk a port. Even if it went wrong, being dead was better than being used against his brother. Before those claws were able to touch his collar, Red gathered his roiling magic and vanished.

He regretted it almost instantly, but it was already too late. The Space Between seemed to stretch on endlessly, draining his magic until he was sure he would die from it. Tears pooled in his eyes as he felt the darkness ripping and pulling at him. He suddenly saw a flash of white, not unlike bone before he felt himself  _ shoved _ out into the normal world. He gave a shout of pain before his world went black.

\----

The crunch of what seemed like endless bouts of snow before him, resounded loudly in the quiet and barren forest. His heavy steps sinking deep into the piled snow, soaking up his worn down sneakers and the socks beneath it. 

The red scarf around his neck offered no comfort and made him feel cold despite the purpose it served. 

He felt both listless and tired—a nap. He needed a good, long nap. Hopefully going undisturbed so he wouldn’t have to see the same scenes replaying over and over anymore. 

His knocks were no longer answered behind the giant doors with the lady he shared puns with. 

He couldn’t tease Alphys for their crush on Undyne. 

He couldn’t crack jokes and drink his ketchup at Grillby’s. 

And he no longer hears his brother’s assured strides and concealed laughter behind the spouts of exasperated anger by his side. 

No one else was here. 

Everyone was gone. 

Even the kid. 

After so many fights, murdering that monster countless times, they just suddenly … up and went away. 

Not even bothering to RESET like before. Or even LOADing back. 

Sans felt like he was stuck in some kind of limbo. Continuing on even though there was nothing left for him. Nothing to do. 

He paced through the forest without a destination in mind. Not like there was any point to going anywhere after all. 

Sans simply walked around all over the place. Visiting the areas with no thoughts in mind. 

The grooves in his sockets were deep, and even sleep gave no reprieve; it was just nightmares that awaited. 

Then, Sans found himself suddenly blinded when a bright light appeared before him. His arms instinctively covered his face to shield himself, and he heard a thud before the light dimmed and diminished. 

Glancing down, his eye lights narrowed at the figure. He walked to stand before the unconscious skeleton, taking care to note of the sharpened teeth—a gold one glinting, and one socket was marred by what seemed to be claw marks. 

Then, Sans found himself grabbing the strange skeleton by the hood and porting them both back to the house he once called home.

For the time being, at least there was something to do.


	2. Chapter 2

Red woke with a groan. His bones were on fire, and it felt as if his magic had all flushed away. He shifted a little, then had to hold back a bark of pain when the pain flared up on his wounds from his struggle with the dogs. Heat still lined his bones, leftovers from the drug.

Long story short, Red felt like crap.

It took effort to summon his eyelights, even that tiny amount of magic strained. It looked like he was in a house eerily similar to his own. He shifted his position again subconsciously, and the pain was enough to make his eyelights dim out again. He clenched his eyes shut, holding back tears.

\----

It had been a while since Sans cooked anything. And it showed. 

And that was why Sans ported to his bedroom with a bowl of cereal in hand, the spoon handle sliding along the circumference. 

The monster was already awake. Good. Saved him the trouble of waking the other up. And they seemed to be having trouble with summoning up their magic by the look of it. He wondered if they could even see since Sans watched the skeleton attempt to filter their eye lights with … red, he supposed. It was faint—close to nonexistent. 

Ah well, it wasn’t really his problem. 

“Hey,” he announced his presence. “I brought food … Hope ya like cereal.”

\----

Red jumped when he heard another voice. The movement sent fire through his bones, drawing a whine from him. A couple tears slipped past his control.

He pushed himself to sit up despite the burning pain. He couldn’t afford to appear weak in front of a stranger. He sent a blank-eyed glare at the blue blob that he assumed was the unfamiliar monster. “Wh-where the hell am I?”

\----

‘My house’ he was about to say. But it ended with, “Just some room in a house.” Because that also sounded sarcastic, and Sans didn’t really care about being an asshole. 

He watched the skeleton try to act tough, but he saw those tears. So the other was hurt? 

Hmm. He wondered if the latter would even let him heal them. 

Sans made his steps loud and obvious when he moved close. “So … ya okay with cereal?” Then he added as an afterthought. “It’s not tem flakes.” 

\----

When he got that sarcastic answer, Red tried to gather his magic for a teleport. He had nowhere near enough to go even two feet, much less however much he’d need to get home to his brother.

Looks like he was stuck at the mercy of someone he didn’t even know. He didn’t even have enough magic to call up the magic to clear his vision. “Wh-what’re ya go-gonna take in re-return, huh?”

The area Red assumed to be the other monster’s head was a blur of white. It made him worry. Was the other a dog monster? Red couldn’t even port away this time! If the monster was one of the dogs he’d probably be returned to his brother in a broken pile of bones.

Red started to shake, trying and failing to hold back his panic.

\----

Sans stopped by the bed. “Your body.” He uttered with such deep seriousness before he added with a deadpan tone. “Kidding.”

He saw the skeleton beginning to shake and Sans held back a sigh. “Don’t need anything.” He summoned a stool from the corner of the room for him to sit on. He supposed some introduction would be good. “‘M Sans. Sans the skeleton. What’s yours buddy?” 

\----

Another skeleton? That could be a good sign, though the guy was making Red nervous with what he hoped were jokes. The guy also was acting like he didn’t know who Red was, so he likely wouldn’t realize at first that he was Edge’s brother/pet.

“Na-name’s Red. Ed-Edge’s ward, so do-don’t think yo-you can pull anything on m-me.”

\----

Sans raised a brow. The fuck was Edge’s ward. From the insinuation, it was probably some status then. Those ‘can’t touch me’ threats. 

“Sounds about right. You look like you’re on the  _ edge _ yourself. But I’m just  _ pulling _ your leg over here.”

\----

Red raised a shaking hand to his collar, clutching it as if it would tell him what he should do. The other guy didn’t even seem to  _ care _ that he was Edge’s ward. What the heck was he supposed to do?

He got the feeling that his usual attitude wouldn’t do him any favors here. Sans didn’t seem to be afraid of Edge, so if Red pissed him off, he’d possibly just kill him.

The thought just amplified his panic. He practically trembled, shrinking in on himself. He didn’t say anything else, just looked down. He was completely under the mercy of Sans.

He hated to admit it to himself, but he was terrified.

\----

Sans pouted when it didn’t garner him the response he might’ve been expecting. Not like he was expecting Red to shake even more and shrink back in the first place. Guess the guy just wasn’t into puns then. 

“Tough crowd. So no puns then.” He looked down to the bowl in his hand and wondered if he should even bother … Of course he would. Because it was something to do. 

“I still got the cereal here … Can you eat it?” And maybe it’ll stop Red from shaking, so he clarified his intentions. “Not planning on hurtin’ ya. Okay?”

\----

Not planning on hurting Red, huh? He doubted that. That’s what people say to make you relax so they can kill you easier. Until he could protect himself, Red wouldn’t let his guard down. He refused to let himself be used against his brother.

“I-I can eat.” Red figured that doing what this guy was telling him to do would probably be wisest. Even if he was shaking so hard that he doubted that he could actually get any food to his mouth.

He just hoped it wasn’t drugged. Whatever it was that had been put in his drink in Chillby’s was still laced with what was left of his magic with an angry warmth.

\----

Looks like no matter what he said, Red wasn’t going to ease up. Not that Sans really minded. He might do the same if he were in the same situation. 

But he really wasn’t going to go anywhere at this point. And he highly doubted that Red could actually get a spoonful in his mouth with all that shaking. Sans would’ve offered to feed him, but that would also probably not go so well. 

… Oh well. Might as well play some kind of villain then. 

Sans placed the cereal on the bedside table. Not like he needed to be a good guy anyway. 

He used his magic to press Red down on the bed, and pulled the other’s soul out. Catching the latter off-guard, Sans was able to take it out easily and drift the beating and cracked red soul to his hands. Then, without a word, he began to pour his own magic into it; filling the almost emptied flask back to full. He had a lot of untouched magic reserves, so the skeleton figured that he might as well put them to use; give them to someone who needs it more, all that good stuff. 

\----

Red cried out when Sans pulled out his soul. At first he was left the most terrified he’d probably been in his entire life. The only reason someone you didn’t trust completely would pull out your soul as far as Red knew was a reason so vile that even the king found it repulsive. It had been outlawed for years, but some monsters still practiced it.

With the right magic directed at the soul, the monster could completely subjugate that soul, leaving the affected little more than a slave, trapped within their mind but unable to control the link between body and soul.

With the state Red was in, it wouldn’t even be hard.

But as magic started to filter into his soul, Red slowly relaxed. He could feel the intent of the other monster, and it wasn’t what he had feared. No, this monster didn’t want to hurt Red. He was just too tired from... something to bother being nice.

It was when he had finally relaxed that he was reminded of something with burning force.

There was still that dratted drug running through his magic. It had mostly faded, but a touch to the soul was one of the most sexual things possible for a monster. Even the small amount of heat left in his bones was enough to make the situation uncomfortably sexual.

Red clapped a hand to his mouth when an embarrassingly loud moan slipped past him.

\----

Sans was startled by the moan, and couldn’t help but look back to Red with a raised brow. 

He wasn’t doing anything sexual nor did the intent he poured portrayed that. And it got him wondering if sharing magic directly into the soul  _ was _ sexual. After all, the very culmination of one’s being was currently in his hands. 

It would be easy to play with, to manipulate and shape another monster to become someone else completely. Maybe the sensation was even more intense when the soul was involved. Not that Sans had any experience in the matter, it was just curious speculation fueling possibilities and wonders. 

Sans looked back to the soul in his hands as he continued to pour his magic in. Somehow becoming fascinated with the blue tint hovering around and seeping into the cracks of the red soul. 

He could … push to massage … maybe squeeze it. A soul was quite soft, almost like a cushion … and yet it breaks like a rock. Truly a peculiar thing. 

Sans looked back to Red again, and out of curiosity, began to gently rub his fingers against the soul. Not pressing hard, but he was definitely pushing. 

Maybe it was a way he could loosen the tension on Red. The skeleton seemed like he needed it anyway. 

\----

Red started to breathe heavily as he felt Sans’ curious movements on his soul. He let another surprised moan slip past when he felt the intent to make him feel good. It wasn’t strong, but with the drug still in his system, it was enough.

Red didn’t want this. It felt good, maybe, but he didn’t want this. He didn’t dare say anything about it, however. His life, everything that he was laid in Sans’ hands. If he angered the other, it could very well be the last thing he ever did as himself. He’d be lucky if he was killed right away and not enslaved.

Red held silent, but tears welled in his sockets. He hadn’t even gotten a clear look at this monster! And yet here he was, in a position that should only happen with his chosen mate.

\----

Seeing the tears well up, Sans couldn’t help but frown. Was he doing something wrong? Was it actually hurting Red instead? 

He wasn’t an expert on souls, but he didn’t think he was doing something bad … maybe he was, he supposed. Sans didn’t know after all. Maybe Red was just bearing the pain out of fear because of the power he currently held over the other. 

A tired sigh left his mouth. “Can you … Are you good with your magic? Can you move or see?” He lifted up the pressure on Red and waited. 

Once again, he wondered if this time, it’ll ease up the other’s nerves knowing that he can fight back or something. Oh, well, maybe not fight since he still held Red’s soul. Maybe it was enough to be able to do things on his own? 

Sans watched and waited. 

\----

Red tried to hide just how relieved he was that Sans had stopped. He lit his eyelights, finally focusing his vision enough that he could see Sans. He stared for a few moments, before catching himself. 

Best not to be rude while his soul was in someone else’s hands.

Sans was just... He had to be the softest adult Red had seen his entire life. He didn’t have any scars. He looked like what Red imagined he might be himself if he hadn’t been covered in a lattice of scars.

Remembering the question he had been asked, Red flexed his limbs, testing for pain. His bones still burned, but it had faded to a dull ache not unlike that of a particularly bad heat. “Y-yeah, I-I’m good, th-thank y-yo-you.”

His stutter was worse than usual, and he had to make an effort to make himself understandable. His shaking had gone down some, but he still held a healthy fear of Sans. Having his soul pulled out like that had really rattled him.

\----

Relief washed over him hearing the affirmation. It finally felt like he was doing something right. “That’s good.”

He moved the soul with his magic, and pushed it back to Red, putting it back where it rightfully belonged. 

“Right. So …” He looked to the bowl of cereal, it must be soggy at this point, and the milk was probably warm by now. “I’ll get ya ‘nother bowl. This one’s no good now.” 

Sans moved to grab the bowl, and looked to Red. “It’s best ta not move …” then a sigh left him right after. “And don’t take that as a threat okay. It’s really best if you just … take this chance to rest up … or somethin’. Up to you.” 

Then Sans ported to get a new bowl for Red. 

\----

When Sans was finally  _ gone _ , even if not for long, a short sob ripped its way out of Red. He curled around where his soul laid in his chest, tears of fear and relief flowing now that he felt safer.

Even without what Red had originally feared when his soul had been pulled out happening, he still felt violated.

After Edge had become captain of the guard, he had cracked down hard on all illegal soul activities. He manipulated the law just enough to land the death sentence for most criminals who molested or claimed others through the soul. After that, souls were shared almost exclusively between mates, no one wanting to be accused.

Of course, Red knew that Sans hadn’t really done anything wrong. Sure he was a little curious, but there wasn’t any intent to harm at all. Not to mention he probably didn’t even realize Red had been drugged.

Red tried to calm himself down, but he was too lost to his emotions. 

He’d be lucky to have a single safe moment the rest of his life now that the dogs knew that they could possibly get to Edge through him. Even though he had escaped this time, they’d probably tell any members of the guard that they felt would be loyal to them. Even if Red and Edge told others about Dogamy and Dogeressa’s ties as mates, it would likely just lead to even more treachery within the guard. In short, Red could very well be the reason the Underground finally was completely lost to anarchy. 

Edge had pulled them from the brink by killing the mad fish that had spread kill or be killed as law in the aftermath of the king absorbing the souls and leaving the Underground, only to never be seen again.

If Edge died, or even just showed too much weakness, there was a high chance he would not be replaced by any monster for more than a short period of time. Monsters would kill themselves off, and it would be all because Edge hadn’t kicked Red to the curb while he still could. Like a one hp monster deserved.

\----

Sans easily came back with a fresh bowl of cereal in hand. And when he looked at Red, he felt so tired all of a sudden. 

Looks like it didn’t help. 

His heart seemed to tighten up at the sight of tears. He always felt bad when he saw anyone cry. More so when he was the cause of it. 

Guess even now, he was still bad at reassuring people. 

“Hey,” he said softly, announcing his presence to not startle the skeleton even more. “... Here’s your food.” 

Sans didn’t get close this time, using his magic to hover it to Red. At the same time, he summoned the stool to him so that he could still sit with a good amount of distance between them. 

Sitting his ass down, he waited and watched Red take the bowl into his hands before starting. “We probably need stuff cleared up. So first thing’s first.” He paused a bit before dropping the bomb. “You’re not where ya think you are.” 

Sans leaned forward and tilted to a side so that he rested his face on his fist, the elbow supported by his leg. 

“This ain’t your world.” 

A good conversation starter no doubt. 

\----

Red flinched when Sans spoke. He wiped at his face as if that would hide the fact that he had been crying. Thankfully, Sans didn’t get too close. Red uncurled himself, pulling the food out of the air. He took a bite before Sans’ words sunk in.

“Not my world?” He thought about it for a moment. A teleport that lasted forever and drained all his magic. A monster without a single scar. “I.. I guess tha’ makes sense.”

\----

Sans exhaled. Seemed like the reception was good this time. “That means, I have no fuckin’ clue about your being Edge’s Ward shit.” 

He moved, propping his head down, just simply stayed hunched over as he clasped his hands together. 

“Just found ya when you popped out of nowhere.” ‘Nearly blinded me’ he didn’t say. “Then I took ya home … That’s it … So,” His back was starting to hurt, but Sans didn’t want to move. “Mind tellin’ your story?” ‘I got nothing better to do.’ Again, he didn’t say. 

\----

“Simple. The king decided that five souls were enough and went ta go kill more an’ free everyone. Absorbed them, and went through the barrier never ta be seen again. Then freaking Fishface decided that we were too weak, and if we ever wanted ta be free, we’d have ta toughen up. Since she was captain of the guard, people listened ta her. Kill or be killed was born.” Red scowled at the reminder of the early days of Kelpbutt’s rule. Since people were hesitant at first to kill, she had gotten a near unstoppable LV very quickly.

“Eventually people got used ta it or died. Weak monsters like me only survived as ‘wards’ or whatever the hell you want ta call it. Really no better than slaves. Edge is my brother, and loads stronger than anyone I know. He killed Seafart and has been ruling as best as possible since. He’s done a lot to undo her mess, but it’s still pretty awful.” Red’s eyelights dimmed as he remembered one of the trafficking rings he had taken down recently. They had all been given the death sentence in hopes that the knowledge on how to transfer ownership of soul slaves they had discovered would die with them.

“We thought it’d be alright for him ta not have ta be so mean ta me in public. ‘Parently that was too soon though. Somehow the dogs managed to pay Chillby off. Drugs in the mustard. Heat-inducer that destabilizes magic or somethin’ similar, I’m not too sure. Couldn’t take a proper shortcut by the time I realized I was drugged. Tried ta get home by walkin, but they managed ta catch me. Finally gave up when they mentioned that they were gonna...” Red’s eye sockets blackened, and he trailed off. He sat there for a long moment, not quite able to continue. He hardly noticed when he started shaking again, remembering his honest wish that his shortcut would kill him.

He set the bowl of cereal aside, before curling in on himself defensively. He really didn’t want to continue.

\----

Well … He did ask for a story. Just … Well, damn. 

Sans took his time to take all that in. It felt a little surreal. Just a little. Because Red was living such a life, so it  _ was _ real. Just … ‘A kill or be killed’ reformation of sorts huh. 

The skeleton could never know nor will he claim that he’d even have an inkling to what kind of life that is. He can’t imagine his own friends doing all that. So Sans didn’t think he could offer any kind of comfort to Red. 

But heck, he might as well try. 

“That … sucks.” A great start. Even Sans wanted to smack himself for his ‘fantastic’ choice of words. He deserved a medal—even a fucking trophy for that. 

Change the subject. Ask simple questions. You already failed anyway, might as well continue digging your grave. Six-feet deep he’s heard. “You mentioned a heat-inducer? Are ya okay now? Did it manage to wear off?” 

Then, he wondered out loud. “You plannin’ to head back?” And, he added. “Can I come?” 

Wow, did someone ask Sans for an encore? Because his performance on being an insensitive ass was top-notch. Tears were shed. Whether it was from laughing or crying or both, who knew. 

\----

Red sent a powerful glare Sans’ way with the first comment. Then, after his questions, he barked a simple “Fuck you!” before turning away from Sans.

He was  _ not _ going to take that.

\----

Sans winced. Yeah, he deserved that. 

A tired sigh left his mouth, and all the energy in his body seemed to have gone along with it. 

It was probably best if he just left then. Back to aimlessly wander around like before. Then, maybe when he got back, Red would be gone. Up and back to where he belonged. And Sans was going to be alone again. 

It was fun while it lasted. 

“You get some rest then.” He said quietly. “I’ll be around if ya need me.” Just in case. He doubted Red would even bother, but just in case. Then, he simply got up and left. 

If he stayed any longer, he was only going to piss the other off more. He was sure. 

The crunching of snow echoed loudly in the quiet forest. 

Going back to the same routine. 

\----

Red curled up where he was, not having the energy to do more. He noticed a creased up ball of bedding off to the side and considered pulling the blanket out of that, but eventually waved it off as needing too much energy.

His hands clutched at his collar tight enough that the spikes on it dug into his hands angrily. He choked back a sob. 

Talking about it hadn’t helped. If anything, Red felt worse, like a wound had been ripped open.

He didn’t dare return to his universe. If anyone but his brother found him while he was out of magic, he’d be dead, or worse. It would probably be better of him to just let his brother think he was dead. Sure it’d be tough, but Edge would pull through.

Red was just a burden, anyways. Even as a slave he was pretty useless. As much as he loved his brother, Red knew it would be better.

So why did the thought hurt so much?

Red couldn’t control his tears. He ended up letting himself cry it out, hoping he would at least feel better after that. He fell asleep not long after that. Sans had told him to get rest anyways, hadn’t he?

\----

Piles of boxes; all opened up, were placed randomly around Sans as he rummaged through the back of Grillby’s bar. 

There were tons of food and drinks left. He’d even found a box that was just filled with various condiments. 

Sans coughed when he blew the dust off another box, and promptly opened it after. 

Oh! The patties were here. All this time, he’d come across fries, pastas, frozen fruits and vegetables that had Sans briefly wondering how Grillby even managed to maintain a freezer. 

Since the possibility of Red staying, even for a bit, existed, Sans decided that he should get some actual food. He’ll probably have to go back and forth with porting all this stuff back, but it shouldn’t take him too long. The perks of magic, and all that jazz. 

He doubted he could keep giving Red bowls of cereals every time … And would probably do him some good to remember how to cook again. He can’t even remember the last time he made quiche. A perfectly good quiche. 

A small smile, a thing he rarely does now, etched on his features at the distant memory. 

He found himself looking forward to trying again. A feeling he didn’t know he could still have. 


	3. Chapter 3

Red woke up feeling even more tired than when he went to sleep. He was tempted to just turn over and sleep more, but he wasn’t able to fall back asleep. He made his way out of the bed and the room. He heard some shuffling where if this was a replica of his house the kitchen would be.

Might as well investigate.

When he got to the doorway to the kitchen, he saw Sans moving stuff around.

He wasn’t quite sure what to think of Sans. From the quick peek of the guy’s intent he got when Sans was pouring magic into his soul, Red could tell he probably wasn’t a bad guy. However...

He was a bit of a jerk.

Red couldn’t say much anyways, seeing as he was often a jerk to others himself.

Maybe he should hold on judging the guy until he knew why his intent and way of treating Red were so different. As long as Sans would let him, Red would probably stick around. The other skeleton fascinated him, and as long as he was staying in this universe, endearing himself to- well, probably himself would help.

Red had already had his life flip on a dime when the kill or be killed policy was first put into effect. He knew that trying to go through this much of a change could kill a monster who stood alone. He had no reason to think that Sans would actually hurt him. He might as well stay with him.

“Hey.” Red gave a simple greeting, mostly to let Sans know he was there.

\----

He finally got the last of the boxes in before he started putting them into the fridge and cupboards. Heh. Somehow, it felt like he was turning over a new leaf or something. 

Sans was taking some ketchup and mustard bottles out when he heard a greeting that made him jump. 

He turned around and saw Red by the entrance to the kitchen. 

So he hasn’t left. Or at least, not yet. Maybe. Sans didn’t know. 

“Hey … Did you … get some sleep?” This was okay right? Not douche-y or anything. 

\----

Red had to bite back a sarcastic comment. Despite his resolve to give Sans another chance, he was still a little upset at him. “Not sure how much it helped, but yeah, I got some sleep. That mustard over there?”

Maybe Red should be a little less comfortable with his favorite drink after it had been drugged, but he liked it too much to let such things get to him. He casually walked up and grabbed one of the bottles. There was a freshness seal, which made him feel a lot better. He popped that off and took a healthy gulp.

\----

“Uh … yeah.” Sans managed to say, even though Red already took a bottle and began to drink it. 

Guess Red preferred mustard like he preferred ketchup then. Noted. He did say something about that in the storytelling bit. 

Sans turned back to continue taking the condiments out and putting them in the cabinets. 

“Went to Grillby’s and figured I should probably stock on some food. More choices than just cereal.” 

He had also gone to librarby for some cookbooks, but he had those already stashed away. 

This time, Sans didn’t say anymore—didn’t ask any more stupid questions. Since Red was still here, he didn’t want to fuck up than he already did. And he also knew that they already started on bad terms. Maybe they could … coexist or something. 

Or he could try not to be an asshole. Yeah. Easier said than done. 

\----

“Grillby’s a store or somethin’?” Red was a little confused, since Grillby sounded like Chillby, and Chillby never woulda let him just walk away with boxes of food.

\----

“Oh.” Right. Red had someone similar called Chillby. Sans wondered if they owned a bar too. “It’s a bar actually.” Though with the amount he brought back, it did seem like he went to some marketplace instead. “Got them from the storage area.” 

Sans felt a twinge in his soul when short memories of him making puns and exasperating his fire friend surfaced. “Heh.” He gazed a little wistfully at the ketchup bottle he held, before putting it in the cabinet with the rest. “Better than lettin’ ‘em go to waste for no one to enjoy at least.” 

More things to add to his tab … He never did manage to pay Grillby back. And not for a long time, if not ever. 

\----

Red nearly spoke, only to pause when he caught the expression on Sans’ face. It was a familiar look, one Red had seen on many faces in the first months after the king left. One of loss.

It seemed like Sans hadn’t had the easiest of lives, either. It made more sense, now, the way that he had been acting. Thinking back to the intent he had felt, Red knew that Sans wasn’t the type of monster who deserved to go through that loss.

Red sighed, setting the mustard down on the counter. He then walked over to Sans, pulling him into a gentle hug.

\----

The contact jolted Sans. His body frozen seemingly frozen in place as his eye lights shrunk to pinpricks. W-What? 

The skeleton was confused. Why did—Why was Red—What? 

Sans was at a loss. And he suddenly became so unsure. His soul felt as if it was beating too fast to function properly. 

He didn’t know what was happening, or at least, what caused for Red to—just what? 

His mind whirled with confusion. Sans didn’t know what to do or say. So he stayed quiet and rigid, enveloped in Red’s embrace; questioning the warmth given to him. 

Sans didn’t understand why, at all. 

\----

“I know that look, sweetheart. Somethin’ bad has happened ta yer, and yer far from over it. Pretty sure we’re supposed ta be the same guy, yet yer bro has yet to show up. Yer make it seem like this Grillby is dead, and that there was no one to take over his place. Someone like yer don’t deserve what happened here.” Red kept Sans wrapped in his embrace.

Sans had taken in a stranger, and that stranger was going to protect the light he saw in Sans’ soul.

Red had seen far too many lights wink out after Seafart had changed the Underground.

\----

Sans’ soul shook, and he didn’t know if his body did the same. 

A sudden heavy weight crashed on him, pushing against the dam to crack the stone. And Sans found himself pushing Red back and gasping harshly as he grabbed onto his brother’s scarf.

‘IT’S OKAY BROTHER. WE ARE BOTH GOING TO BE FINE.’ 

Sans could hear Papyrus’ voice. Always encouraging him. 

But it sounded so faint. Nothing of the loud cheerfulness he was familiar with. 

How long has it been since? He couldn’t remember anymore. 

Unbidden tears cropped up his sockets as he gritted his teeth. 

Papyrus was always there for him. But he couldn’t do the same. 

He tightened the grip on his scarf. As if he did so, his brother would just come barging in and scold him for taking his precious scarf. 

His brother  _ believed _ in him. 

But all Sans felt was shame to the highest degree. Because he had  _ failed.  _

He failed miserably to keep both of them safe—to keep everyone  _ alive.  _

He can’t. He just  _ can’t. _

Sans’ magic wisped out of his eye sockets as his breathing increased. His chest felt so tight, like he was going to explode. 

Then he teleported. 

\----

Red sighed at the reaction he got. Dealing with people who teleport was a small deal harder than those who couldn’t.

Figuring he’d let Sans wallow for a short period of time, Red set to work digging through cabinets until he found enough to put together a burger. He wrapped it up, then ported to Waterfall, just outside of where he would have gone. Four bridge seeds later and he was glad to find Sans sitting on the bench in the hidden room.

He was a little less glad to see the obvious signs of tears. Looks like they’d both managed to make each other cry now.

He knelt in front of Sans, holding out the burger. “When was the last time yer ate?”

\----

He didn’t know how long he had been sitting there, bawling his eyes out. 

It had been a long time since he ever came here anymore. 

This was always the place where he could find solitude. Where he cried and screamed—maybe went a little crazy the first time all the madness and killing happened. 

And guess he shouldn’t be surprised either that Red would know of it. The skeleton walked over and knelt down in front of him, offering him a burger. 

At the question, he gingerly took the food with both hands. “... I…” 

‘I don’t know.’ He wanted to say. ‘It was pointless anyway. I didn’t bother to care.’

Sans tried to get his voice to work, to utter more than a whisper or a hiccuped gasp. But he couldn’t do it, and shook his head; hoping it was enough of an answer. A poor one at that. 

Fresh hot tears poured his cheeks when he took a bite. He sniffled and chewed quietly. 

His emotions felt so raw. So fresh and new. 

Sans thought that they all died along with everyone. But now it seemed that it was just like opening Pandora’s Box. 

And now Sans was a mess. 

\----

Red frowned when Sans shook his head. He sat down next to the other skeleton, placing what he hoped was a reassuring hand on Sans’ back.

It seemed that Sans was only now allowing himself to feel the grief of losing at least two people close to him. Didn’t seem like he had been taking care of himself in the meantime.

Red would have to keep a close eye on Sans for a while now that he had broken the walls that Sans had built around himself. It was a good thing he had already committed himself to staying with Sans, since he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself if he left and Sans hurt himself.

He remembered the last time he’d left someone to grieve alone. When he had finally managed to get past the Ruins door, the pile of dust he had found had haunted him for years after. The old queen had still loved her husband more than either of them had thought.

It wasn’t like Red had anywhere else to go. He might as well make sure Sans lived through this. He thought of a second story, and felt that might help Sans. When RG 02 had vanished, it hadn’t been pretty.

“Yer know, back home, there have been a couple times where a person would just vanish. The people who were left behind didn’t always take care of themselves. There was one time where one of those folks who vanished actually hadn’t died, but was instead found later and was able to return home. She was shocked to learn that her mate... had killed himself out of grief. She came to me about it. It wasn’t how she had wanted her mate to die. She had been taken by one of the trafficking rings to protect her mate from death. When people give their life or freedom for another, Sans, it’s so that the other person can  _ live. _ ”

Red hoped that he read the situation right. It was possible that Sans’ family and friends had died natural deaths, but unlikely. And Sans only had one hp, just like Red. If Sans’ brother was anything like Red’s own, then he had likely tried to keep Sans away from whatever had taken his life.

Sans very well could be blaming himself, and Red hated to see that.

Somehow, just by giving him magic, Sans had gotten Red to be extremely loyal. It was almost funny.

\----

Sans listened quietly to Red’s explanation, all the while taking a bite at the burger. He had calmed to a sniffle here and there. 

Giving one’s life for another … Sans was bitter hearing that. 

It wasn’t worth it in the end. 

What was the point … when there was no one left. 

When everyone was gone. 

And he was the only one left behind. 

Before, he had fought the kid so fiercely, to make sure that the deaths of his friends—of his brother, was brought to justice; that it wasn’t for naught. 

But as they kept fighting. Kept RESET-ing. Kept LOAD-ing. Kept killing and dusting everyone. 

Sans felt so worthless. The neverending nightmare—becoming haunting reminders that each and every time, he wasn’t able to do anything. 

Until he stopped caring. 

But now … his worst fears were realized. 

Because it just suddenly  _ stopped _ . 

The kid was gone … and so was everyone … but him. 

Sans didn’t even know why he did anything anymore. 

He lived, but he felt like he died anyway. 

Was this what Red was saying? That he deserved the pain living brought? That he should live, knowing and remembering just what an absolute shit and a failure he was? That he had let everyone down? 

Because Sans can definitely agree with him with all of that. 

But if Red meant that one should treasure living because it was what the other would’ve wanted, then Sans calls “Bullshit.” He said. “The person left behind … It was the same as if they’ve died themselves. What would be the point?”

\----

Red sighed. He had to think for a long moment so he could try his best not to make Sans feel even worse. He was never all that good at helping reassure others, but for some reason he really wanted to help Sans.

“Because people are selfish, Sans. They’re selfish, and they don’t want ta live the pain of losing the one they loved. I mean, look at me! I’m staying far away from my home universe because I don’t want ta be the reason the dogs are able to actually kill my brother. So instead I’m just gonna let him think I’m dead, cause that’s better than him seeing that I was tortured. Maybe there are people who don’t just want ta avoid the pain when they sacrifice themselves, but I couldn’t tell yer. Not sure if there’s anyone from my universe who’s still good anyways. Just a bunch of murderers only out for their own good.” Red glared at his legs when he said the last bit.

He’d seen so much, and none of it was good anymore. Heck, even his dear, sweet brother had been corrupted by his LV, and less and less of the torture he’d done to Red stopped when they were safe at home. By now, just as many of Red’s wounds came from his brother as from any other source.

The dummy collar he had been wearing for years had been replaced with a real one just months ago. He wasn’t Edge’s brother, and hadn’t been since that day. Just another slave.

\----

“You!” Sans suddenly felt hot fires in his soul sear. He threw the rest of his food to the ground when he stood, and glared at Red. 

Selfish was goddamn fucking right. Because even when Sans understood, he  _ hated _ it. 

His own brother was dead.  _ Papyrus _ was dead. 

And Sans wasn’t ever going to get him back. 

And yet, here was Red.  _ Alive.  _

He was fucking alive! And he wanted his own brother, this Edge, to think that he was dead. 

Sans wanted to scream. He wanted to shake Red that he was wrong. He wanted to yell at him to go home. 

Because they still had each other. And by Red’s world, they  _ only _ had each other. 

But at least. At  _ least _ , there was someone. 

Someone who could be waiting for him. 

Someone who still needed him. 

Someone to still call his family. 

Because Sans … 

The tears streamed down, as Sans kneeled and slumped to ground. His hands covered his face as he loudly sobbed. 

… Had  _ no one.  _

He was jealous of Red. And angry at him for wasting his chance. Despite the circumstances of their worlds, Sans couldn’t help it. 

It felt  _ unfair _ . 

Red had a choice. 

Sans didn’t. 

But deep down, the skeleton couldn’t bring himself to lash out. Not at Red. Because he still understood. Even if he didn’t want to. 

\----

Red looked away from Sans, ashamed. Clearly he had hit some nerve, doing the exact opposite of what he wanted to. He stood slowly. “I-I’m sorry. I’ll leave you alone.”

What had Red been thinking? That he could be useful? That he might actually be able to help?

What a joke.

He was just as rotten as anyone else from his universe.

Stars, all he’d ever managed to do was make things worse. Edge was probably glad that he was gone. 

He’d gotten a second chance here, and ruined it. “Yo-you shouldn’t have to deal with me anyways.”

Red turned to the bridge seeds, planning to possibly warp back to his world, or maybe just find a secluded spot to rot like the trash he is.

\----

Sans whipped his head up when the words sunk in, and saw Red’s back to him. 

“W- _ Wait!” _ He choked out. And Sans pitifully grabbed onto his brother’s scarf for support. “I-I-I’m s-sorry.  _ Hic _ D-Don’t—” Sans swallowed, the tears continued to pool and fall down. “Don’t l-leave me.” It came out as a hoarse whisper. Desperation evident in his words. 

“I-I,” he gritted his teeth and tightened his grip, forcing the words out. “I don’t h-have  _ hic _ anyone a-anymore. T-There’s  _ hic _ n-no one left. J-Just me.” 

_ Selfish hypocrite.  _

The words jolted his core, and his body trembled. He curled himself in. He looked so weak and fragile. 

No. No, Red should go home. Sans was being stupid. Selfish. 

The skeleton wasn’t even supposed to be here. Just an accident. 

Besides, Sans had been a huge jerk to him anyway. Even though Red was just trying to help. He pushed, and got angry. 

Sans didn’t deserve Red. Being alone served him better. 

“S-Sorry.” He started shaking his head. “‘M bein’ dumb. Y-You should go h-home. I-I’m sorry.” 

He should be left behind as he was meant to. 

\----

“Okay.” Red said simply. Apparently he hadn’t completely ruined his chance here. Somehow Sans didn’t want him to leave, so as he’d told himself before, as long as Sans wanted him around, he’d stay.

Sans was free to make his own mistakes, Red supposed. And if keeping someone from Red’s hell of a universe around was one of them, then he’d let Sans keep him around.

He moved over to the other skeleton, sitting near him once again. This time he didn’t say anything, didn’t speak up in the fear that Sans might change his mind. 

\----

Sans froze when he heard Red’s answer, and more tears served to blur his vision. 

So Red was going to leave—

But Sans was befuddled when the skeleton came over and sat near him on the cold ground. 

Red didn’t say anything. 

And Sans didn’t know what to say. 

Something … felt off. 

Sans wiped off his tears as he stared at Red. His eyes narrowed when he saw the dull colour of the other’s eye lights. It was … as if Red wasn’t in control of himself. 

Compliant. Like some … some pet? Slave? Simply following orders. 

“R-Red?” Sans’ throat burned, so it came out raspy. But the concern and worry was there. 

There was something wrong with Red. And Sans wasn’t sure as to what it could be. 

\----

Red blinked, confused. Why did Sans sound so worried? What had he done wrong this time?

Red tried to think over the cloud that had covered his mind. He’d been trying to help Sans as best he could, how had he messed up?

...tried to help Sans as best he could.

Red thought about it for a moment longer. Remembered the signs he’d seen among many monsters in the trafficking ring he had recently shut down with his brother.

Had his soul out recently, was trying to serve the guy who’d pulled it out, not thinking clearly. The only thing different was that Sans hadn’t had any ill intent. Red had thought that was a requirement, but apparently not.

Did Sans even know what he’d done?

Red haunched in on himself, trying to decide if he should speak up or not. If Sans hadn’t intended to make a one-sided bond, then it could possibly be removed if it was weak enough. If he  _ had _ intended it, however...

Red just didn’t know. He didn’t know if he’d just imagined the good person he saw in Sans.

A few tears escaped his eyes as he thought.

\----

Oh stars. 

Shame and guilt hit his core when he saw the tears. 

It was his fault. 

“I-I’m sorry, Red.” Sans moved back, giving Red space. “It was wrong of m-me to force you t-ta stay.” He felt like utter scum. 

Everything was his fault. 

Why hasn’t he dusted yet. It may just be the best thing he could do. 

Just for everything to be over …

Sans summoned his soul. Gray, dull and empty as he felt now. 

He held it in his hand. Staring blankly—tiredly at it. 

Then he  _ squeezed.  _

This time, Sans finally felt that he was doing something right.


	4. Chapter 4

Red lunged forward, prying Sans’ soul from his tight grip. He pulled it close to his own chest, curling around it defensively. “Don’t yer dare.”

The action proved to Red that Sans didn’t know what he’d done, unless he wanted them both to die. Red knew painfully well that even a weak bond would kill him should Sans die. When Edge had taken down the trafficking ring, he’d only killed one person himself—the leader of it. He’d had every single member under his thumb, and when he died, it set off a chain reaction. That monster had taken fifty-six lives with him.

Red yanked his own soul out of his chest, revealing a pale blue line of magic that connected both souls. “Look close. Yer see that line connecting our souls? Tha sort of thing is one of Edge’s nightmares. It’s a single-sided bond, formed when a monster channels magic inta another who’s not already fully bonded to them. While a full bond shares emotions equally, a single-sided bond can lead to little better than slavery. This one’s weak, won’t even need outside help to remove it. But if yer die while it’s there, I’ll die just like I would if it was a full bond.”

Red put his soul back, then stared at Sans’ soul for a long second before setting it alongside his own. He didn’t quite trust Sans with it at that moment. He then yanked Sans into a tight hug. “I ain’t breaking it ‘til I know you won’t try that stunt again, either. So if yer wanna die, just know that yer taking me with yer.”

\----

When Red pried his soul, Sans mouth opened, ready to protest. But the words died when Red began to explain. 

His expression morphed to devastation the more it sunk in that not only had he made Red subject to his order against his will, but he almost killed him too! 

And when Red pulled him into an embrace and said those words with such calm clarity, Sans wanted to outright push him away. 

He didn’t–couldn’t—Sans just doesn’t understand why Red is continuing to be so kind and gentle with him! 

He just tried to kill him! Even if Sans didn’t know about it, there was no excuse in the crime of his actions. 

If anything, there should be hate, utter repulsion and disgust! 

And yet … Red was telling him if he was willing to—no! 

That was just the bond or whatever. Sans was sure of it. Red wasn’t thinking right at all. 

After all, just earlier, Red wasn’t even thinking straight. So what say he wasn’t doing the same now? 

Sans … slowly pulled away from Red, and looked him in the eyes. 

He was going to do it. 

“I …”

After all …

“I  _ promise _ , I won’t.”

This wasn’t the first time he  _ broke _ his promises. 

\----

Red looked at Sans skeptically. If there was one thing he could still think clearly about, it was Sans. Sure, if Sans gave him a direct order to remove the bond, he’d be compelled to comply, but with how weak the bond was, he’d probably be able to resist.

This wasn’t a direct order, but Red still wasn’t going to fall for it. He pulled out his own soul, handing it to Sans. What he was about to have Sans do could backfire on him by making the bond stronger, but he figured it was worth the risk. “You’ll have ta understand if I’m not likely to believe yer. I’ll give yer two choices here. If yer really mean that promise, then put some of that intent inta my soul. Don’t stop once yer start, since unless I do my half ta break the bond it could just strengthen. Or, wait a couple weeks and prove to me that yer don’t intend on finishing what yer started.”

Red honestly hoped that Sans wasn’t going to off himself the moment they broke the bond, but he wasn’t going to take the chances. If Sans chose to go a couple weeks and managed to convince him wrongly that he intended to kill himself, it would hopefully show in his intent, and Red could turn the bond full instead of breaking it. Hopefully it would work as a last resort.

\----

Sans’ hands shook as he carefully held the red soul. Feeling it to be so fragile and pure on his dirty hands. 

“Why?” He whispered, eyes trained on the soul instead of meeting Red’s gaze anymore. “Why do you even care? I-I’m not even—You don’t even know me!” 

\----

Red sighed, pulling Sans back into a hug, careful of the soul Sans still held. “Call me a bleedin soul if yer will. Half the reason I’m still alive is that people knew I wasn’t just a one hp monster, but that I saved more than a few lives instead of taking them when I found a weakened monster. Jus’ healed em up and sent them on their way. Got protected by a few of them, alongside the protecting I got from Edge. Never risked their life for me, but tha was only ta be expected. Chillby’s used ta be safe for me ‘cause of it, I let my guard down there a little too much.”

\----

Sans rested his head on Red’s shoulder. The tiredness seeped into his bones. 

“You’re … so strong.” He was so pathetic in comparison.

What a self-centered brat he’d been. He had no right taking such an easy way out. 

And Sans took a deep breath, before gazing sadly at the soul. 

“... ‘m starting.” 

He slowly began to pour his intent. He won’t kill himself anymore. 

He doesn’t deserve that kind of freedom. He was right where he belonged; to continue bearing it all: the torment, the nightmares, the sins and guilt, and the constant reminder of his failures. 

He belonged in this hell. 

So Sans was going to keep his promise. And kept focus on proving it. 

_ He wasn’t going to kill himself.  _

_ He was going to keep living.  _

_ Please believe him.  _

Because there was really nothing more he could offer. 

\----

When Sans started pouring magic into his soul, tears welled in Red’s eyes. He didn’t feel the intent for Sans’ life to end, but he could tell he’d made Sans very, very upset. He pulled Sans’ soul out shakily. “Ye-Yer gotta wa-want ta break the bond while ch-channeling the magic, and I-I’ve got ta do the same.”

Red started channeling his own magic into Sans’ soul. He couldn’t quite muster up the will to break the bond himself, though. He looked at Sans through tears. “I-I can’t–I don’t want to leave someone wh-who hates themself so much. Pl-please,  _ Sans.” _

Red was slightly surprised at his own feelings. They weren’t even caused by the half bond, as far as he could tell. He just honestly didn’t want to let Sans deal with that self hate alone. 

Possibly since it wasn’t too far from Red’s own self hate.

\----

Hearing the plea, Sans moved away so that he could look at Red. What. What did he do now? 

He was just so tired. 

“Send intent to break the bond right? I can do that.” He never wanted Red to be a slave. Red should be free. 

He frowned then. “You should though. It’s not healthy after all. Won’t do any good sharing something like hate between us.” 

\----

“W-we can make it a full bond. A fu-full bond isn’t anything li-like a one-sided one. I-it’s much more na-natural. We’d ju-just share emotions a-and know if the other i-is in danger.” Red tried to rationalize past his tears.

He was honestly afraid that Sans would fall down at this rate.

\----

“A full bond? Shouldn’t ya be doin’ that kind of thing with someone ya love? Like a mate or somethin’?” 

And why would you even want me? 

Red was being so weird. 

\----

“U-usually.” Red affirmed, realizing how odd this must feel to Sans. “But us-usually you don’t  _ feel _ someone so close ta f-fa-falling down-wn.”

Red accompanied his words with a wave of worry. A small sob worked its way past him as his stutter worsened.

\----

Falling down? More like,  _ falling _ asleep … Hehe. 

Sad that Red didn’t like puns. Sans thought that was a good one. Maybe. He needs a nap. 

“No.” He shook his head. “You shouldn’t waste somethin’ that precious. Your future mate will be sad.” 

He gave Red a tired smile. “C’mon, let’s just break the bond.” He was going to be too drained to do it otherwise. 

\----

Red wracked his mind to try and come up with a way to convince Sans. He jolted when he realized that Sans was  _ falling asleep already. _ While it made sense for Sans to get tired when he was pouring magic out of himself, Red should be just as tired, since the two of them were sharing magic with each other.

Sans was literally Falling in front of his eyes.

_ “Please _ , Sans. Yo-you promised! You pro-promised that you wouldn’t k-ki-kill yourself! Le-letting yourself Fall counts as that.” Red pleaded with Sans. He even pulled out the best puppy-dog eyes he could manage while bawling his eyes out. “Please.”

\----

Sans furrowed his brows. He wasn’t going to  _ Fall _ . But stars, he was fucking sleepy. 

His mouth pursed into a pout. Felt like he was being scolded for no reason. 

But at this point, and given  _ that _ look, Sans let out a heavy sigh.

“... Your funeral.” He spoke softly before grunting his affirmation. And he couldn’t help but add, “You’re making a mistake … Your future mate is going to be sad, you know.” 

And that made Sans pout again. He felt shittier than before. 

\----

Red gave Sans a large, relieved grin. It didn’t take him more than a second to channel his intent into bonding with Sans. After just a few moments, he was able to stop channeling his magic and return Sans’ soul.

He wiped his tears away. He was extremely happy, even knowing he’d signed his soul away to a relative stranger.

He knew it would take some getting used to feeling someone else’s emotions, but he felt it more than worth it. Considering that he had seen bonds formed for mere political alliances, it wasn’t like bonding to save a life was the worst reason possible.

\----

It surprised Sans just how easy Red relayed his intent. Guess the latter was truly serious in becoming completely bonded to him. Though, Sans felt as if he was swept along as he did the same, and shortly returned Red’s soul back to him. 

It was … odd. 

Red mentioned that he could feel the other’s feelings and know when the other was in danger. 

Happiness and relief was like a lingering wisp hovering over his own emotions, because Sans was sure that his own wasn’t close to being the same. 

However, his exhaustion seemed to have lightened, and no longer did he feel as sleepy as before. As if he took a bite of Papyrus’ spaghetti—an indescribable taste, but a sharp slice of bitterness was one of them; forcing him to keep awake. 

Still … 

Sans let out a sigh. “What … How do you feel?” He shook his head. “Not emotions. Just … You okay?” 

This wouldn’t have happened, Sans realized, if he hadn’t poured his magic into Red’s soul. Even if he didn’t know, he was the cause of all this. 

Again. All his damn stupid fault. 

And now, Red was bound to him. A stranger. 

Sans ruined Red’s chances for his true mate. And the guilt and sorrow wracked his soul. He tried to push it down now that the other could feel what he felt too. But he couldn’t stop it even if he wanted to. 

“I’m sorry, Red.” He said. Truly meaning it for all the trouble he’d caused the skeleton. And Sans looked down at his brother’s scarf, and wondered what was going to happen to them now. 

\----

Red’s smile grew sad as guilt and sorrow dulled his joy. He supposed it only made sense. While bonding had pulled Sans from the brink of Falling, it couldn’t do everything.

Especially when bonded to Red.

Red stood, offering a hand to help Sans up. “Let’s go home, sweetheart.”

They could probably do good with some rest. Maybe not sleeping, not yet, but watching a movie or something would do them well.

\----

Sans looked up to the outstretched hand, and took it. 

Yeah. Home sounded nice. 

It had been long since he called it that anymore. 

Maybe with Red, he’ll come around to calling it that as well. A tiny part of him hoped it'd come true. 

“Okay. Let’s go.” And Sans teleported both of them back home.


	5. Chapter 5

Red did his best to help Sans over the course of a couple weeks. Despite his best efforts to help his bondmate however, he could tell that the state of this world was just dragging Sans down. He’d stare at the door to his brother’s room, or something would remind him of one of his friends, and sadness would flood through the bond.

And Red would pull on his collar, reminded of the fact that he had abandoned his brother. His self hate would flood the bond, too.

Neither of them were happy. 

Red knew something had to change or they’d both end up Falling at this rate. He just didn’t know what he should do.

It was one of the times that he pulled on his collar that Red got an idea. It could very well just lead the both of them to their deaths, but they were already dying anyways, so they might as well try it. If Sans wanted to, at least.

“Hey Sans? W-would you like to go ta my world? It would be dangerous, but I think being around other people would be good fer us.”

\----

Sans was startled out of his thoughts when he heard Red. 

Red’s world? The reforming ‘kill or be killed’, huh. 

Dangerous sounds about right. In fact, they could outright just die there being one-hit point monsters. But Red made a good point. 

There were other people. 

Sans was thankful that Red was around now, and he did appreciate the other’s efforts in trying to lift his mood. But he was reminded too much of his failures that it outweighed the attempts. 

And it didn’t help that they could both equally wallow in self-hate and depression. 

They were both miserable. 

Sans marched over to Red and held his hand. Over time, he tried to be more caring and affectionate. His actions were few, but Sans was trying his best to make it count. 

“I think you’re right. It would do us both good.” Sans smiled. He started doing that too. “I’d like to come.”

He’ll get to know more about Red’s world. Of the other’s brother Edge. 

And maybe, he could also pitch in to help? 

“But we should maybe see if we could prepare and take something with us.” 

\----

“Yeah, tha would probably be a good idea.” Red gripped at Sans’ hand, slightly nervous about his decision to go back. “Wha were yer thinking of?”

\----

“Hmm.” Sans took a while before he spoke. “I think food should be high on our list. Don’t know what it’s like with the resources in your world. But food for ourselves would be great.” 

He looked around, thinking of what else to bring. “... Honestly, I think that’s all really. Maybe some clothes if we wanted, if we could make it fit in our luggages.” 

Speaking of, he should probably take them out from the shed later. 

Then, Sans turned to look back at Red, having detected the nervousness. “We’ll be fine.” He squeezed back, and smiled at him. 

He wasn’t good at reassuring people, but he has been learning. 

“You got me now. And I got you.” This would be good for them, and no doubt it wasn’t going to be all rainbows, but he could only hope for the best. 

\----

Red smiled at Sans’ reassurement. “Thanks.”

It would be hard to deal with having not just himself, but also Sans as an one hp monster in that world. There was a very real possibility that it would just be a visit, and they’d have to return to this empty world just to be safe. Knowing they had the option would help, however. A safe place to run to if needed.

Red leaned against Sans’ side, seeking the warmth of the other. “Food is the biggest concern we have. Shopkeepers are fairly safe, since yer would have to ambush them when they leave their shops. A lot have houses connected, and people deliver them goods so they don’t have ta fight.”

\----

“Heh. Guess my world is useful to us like this.” Then, it hit Sans. But he wasn’t sure if it’d be all right to ask. But it was important too. 

Ah, fuck it! “Hey, uh, about your bro. If it gets too rough there, do you think we can take him back with us here? He’s your family after all. And I know that it’s complicated, but I just want to let you know that we can do that if you both wanted.” 

Because Sans didn’t know if this Edge would like living in such solitude in his world. 

“And, uh, if I can, I’m also willing to help around in your world. Try to make it better, and all that.” Big talk coming from him. A heavy responsibility that Sans wasn’t sure he’ll be able to take, but he was willing. Because there would be nothing else otherwise. And then nothing would change. 

Sans had been slowly changing, and for the better, he thinks. That’s why for Red, he was willing to make sacrifices and promises he’ll keep. 

They were both going to be in this together. 

His soul swelled at the prospect that things looked hopeful. 

Hey … Paps … Did you know that I’m not alone anymore? Hehe.

\----

Red gave a smile, touched that Sans would offer such things. “Not sure Edge would be willin’ ta come back with us. Probably best to keep it as a last resort. If yer willin’ ta try and help, though, that’d be great. We need all the people we can get who actually wanna fix that hellhole.”

Remembering the state of his world soured Red’s mood some. He turned to hide his head in Sans’ shoulder. “Stars though, it’s hard ta imagine jus’ how strong humans mus’ be ta kill a boss monster with five souls. Tha king never should’a left.”

\----

Sans didn’t say anything about the strength of humans. After all, a child managed to kill the entire population easily. What about an adult? And there were so many up on the Surface. 

Sans isn’t surprised that humans were capable of such a feat. Not when monsters were initially pacifists; only wanting freedom and to live a peaceful life. 

All Sans could do was hug Red, and offered his support. “We can do this. Gotta believe in ourselves first, yeah?” He rubbed his partner’s back, and poured the intent in their bond—Hope. “I’ll be right by your side the whole time.” 

\----

Red nuzzled into the hug, happy for the physical comfort. He didn’t often get positive contact like that in his own universe after the king disappeared. It was warm, comforting.

“Boss—that’s what I call Edge, will probably be glad to have his royal scientist back. I feel a little bad for hiding away here for so long, but it’s helped loads for my magic. I like shortcuts as much as anyone, but it can be tiring ta use them instead of walking for so long. Not safe for me ta do much else though if I wanna get to the labs and back.” While in Sans’ universe, Red had only made a few shortcuts, since the two of them rarely went anywhere. Without all the fighting and dodging of fights, Red had more magic than he could remember ever having at once. He’d even managed to get his hp up to 15/1.

If there were other monsters like Sans in this universe, Red probably never would have been willing to go back.

\----

“‘M glad to hear that.” He was really relieved. Red was much stronger now than when Sans found him. And not as nervous or scared that it would take a toll on his body like before. 

In fact, they’ve been getting along much better than when they first met. Lots of talking: about how Sans’ world came to be, what they like, hobbies, movies, and the like. 

Oh, and Red loved puns! That misunderstanding had also been clarified. And thank goodness. Because Sans might actually die not being able to tell puns anymore … Ah, he should really stop joking about dying. Touchy subject that is. 

With Red still in his arms, Sans could feel his soul warm up along with the rest of his body. It had been so long since he felt so comfortable and at a little more at ease. 

He did a bold move, a little hesitant at the start, but Sans pecked Red on the head before pulling away. His cheeks flushing dark blue as he coughed. “I’ll go get the bags so we can start packin’ then. Be right back!” Teleporting away to the shed to search for those fossil bags. All the while, trying to calm the fast thumping of his heart. Oh stars. What did he just try doing? 

\----

Red blushed when Sans kissed his skull. He hadn’t quite been expecting that. While they were bonded, Red hadn’t pushed the relationship that usually came with a bonding. He had done it to save Sans’ life, not to find a romantic partner. If Sans didn’t want romance, then Red would feel awful if he made Sans think he had to love him or anything.

However, that didn’t stop Red from wanting it himself. As they learned more about each other, Red found that it wouldn’t be hard to love Sans. He always seemed to be considerate of Red, and was able to help more than he even knew when Red was in a down mood. Not to mention he was great at reading Red, and knew if something was wrong sometimes even before Red did.

So when Sans gave him that quick peck, Red was elated. His namesake red magic left a flush across his cheeks, and a large goofy grin stretched over his face. While he might have gone to start setting clothes or food aside, he was too busy reeling from the affection to do so.

\----

Sans managed to unearth two relatively medium-sized luggages; even had the handle and wheels intact and working still. He teleported back into the house. And having long since calmed, he was ready to face Red. 

He wasn’t that good with romantic affections, not that he was keen on having one, and the idea became nonexistent when the killing started. But he won’t deny the changing feelings he’s had for Red. 

He was going to take that slow of course. Because he liked what they had going on. And it wasn’t because they were bonded; otherwise, he would’ve felt awkward instead. 

No, he wanted to do what he did. But stars, it was embarrassing as heck. 

Sans took a deep breath to calm his nerves. One step at a time. 

He walked over to Red was, dragging the bags with him; grasping the handles on each hand. 

“Found ‘em. Still in working condition too.” And since they were bondmates, Sans wondered if what they were doing now felt like those ‘going on a honeymoon’ phase trip he’d heard Alphys spoke of from some anime at one point, before pushing the thought away. 

\----

Red couldn’t wipe the dopey grin off his face, even when Sans came back. “Cool. You should pack a couple outfits, but no need to go too crazy. Can always get you new clothes there, and if we have to come back in a hurry, we don’t want you to lose all of your clothes. I’ll pack some food.”

Red took one of the bags over to the kitchen, planning to grab some of the foods that were seen as luxury in his universe since no one made them any more. He grabbed the lasagna noodles for his brother too. Two bottles each of ketchup and mustard, since it might be a short while until they were able to find someone other than Chillby to get it from. A few foods that he knew from trial and error Sans enjoyed the most.

That done, Red tried to come up with something else to pack, but came up short. He’d just give Sans the rest of the space in the bag.

\----

Following Red’s advice, Sans only packed lightly on clothes. If anything, they didn’t really need the whole two bags, but would be useful if they needed to bring back anything, or just store stuff in it for safekeeping. Whichever really. But it wasn’t good to mix food and clothes, so two bags it was. 

“‘M ready over here.” He called out. “Didn’t pack many, but figured we could use the spaces when we get to your world. Bring things back, or just use it as storage or somethin’.” 

Sans zipped it up, and positioned the stroller upright. 

\----

Red zipped his own bag up, pulling it back out to the living room. The closer they were to actually going, the more nervous he got.

What if Edge didn’t approve of Sans? If he tried to hurt him? What if  _ Sans _ didn’t like  _ Edge _ ? And what if Sans got hurt because of Red?

Red would never be able to forgive himself if Sans got hurt because of him. Sans was one of the nicest monsters he’d ever met. He didn’t deserve hardships.

Maybe they shouldn’t do this. It was too dangerous. Sans didn’t even have a single scar! Red had promised to himself he would protect Sans, and this would be doing pretty much the opposite.

Red glared at the floor as if it would give him a better option. A way to make Sans happy here.

\----

Sensing the worry in their bond, Sans went to Red and pulled him into his arms; holding him tight and rubbing his back. “It’s all right. I’ll do my best to keep you safe.” 

Maybe Red was remembering how close he was to being killed before he came to his world, and was worried about meeting those monsters again. He couldn’t do much, but hoped to ease his bondmate’s worries, even just a bit. 

“We’re gonna be fine.”

\----

_ Stars _ Red really had gotten the best mate he could ever have hoped for. He melted into the embrace, trying to hide the small tears forming in his sockets. “Wh-what if I ca-can’t protect  _ you _ ?”

Red was already starting to fall in love with Sans. If Sans died, then Red would be glad that the bond would kill him, too. Even after only a couple weeks, he couldn’t imagine life without his precious bondmate.

\----

“It’s not gonna happen.” Sans said firmly. “I’m gonna stick to ya like glue. Follow ya around wherever. We got each other’s back.” 

“It’s fine to worry, but no use worrying yourself silly.” He chuckled, and sent unwavering confidence he never thought he’d feel through their bond to ease Red’s tension. 

They were going to be alright. Sans wouldn’t let anything happen to Red, and he knew that Red would have his back. 

“We got this Red.” Sans was really much more different than before. Where did his enthusiasm come from? This confidence and at ease determination? It’s like he was getting his old self back; slowly trickling and filling up a bucket. But it was there. 

He was starting to hope and care and become determined. All because of Red. His bondmate became his pillar of support. And one he was slowly falling for as well. 

\----

Red took a few deep breaths, finally managing to calm down some. “O-okay. Sin-since we’re bonded, we sh-should be safe t-ta show our aff-affection for each other. Bu-but for anyone el-else, yer can’t show positive em-emotions. I-if yer make an-any enemies, they’ll g-go straight t-ta the people y-yer care about.”

\----

“Pfft. So I gotta be an asshole to others. Got it. Shouldn’t be too hard considerin’ my current track record.” Sans smiles cheekily, very much amused by the advice. 

Fighting others wasn’t a big deal to Sans. He had top-notch combat experience, fighting and killing the kid countless times. If push comes to shove, Sans knew he could dish out when necessary. Though he won’t fight to kill, since that was the problem they were trying to fix, he could use his magic to keep them affixed in a place for a long time. Heh. Kind of like telling a kid to go have a ‘time out’. 

But he wasn’t going to start picking fights for Red’s sake. 

“Anythin’ else I should know before we go?”

\----

Red hummed, thinking. It was possible that Edge would try to get Sans away from Red, so they’d have to take precautions. “I’ve got a fair deal more magic than I did the first time I crossed over, but I might still pass out. I’ll be aiming for my room. If I do pass out, and my brother comes while I’m still out, tell him the secret password. Not the super secret, just the dodohead one. That’ll tell him that I trust yer. Try ta stay safe, sweetheart.”

Red pulled out of the hug just enough to give Sans a peck on the cheek and grabbed the bag with food in it. He started to gather his magic, taking care to build it up gradually so the port wouldn’t be as taxing as it was the last time. He wanted to spare Sans that pain at least.

\----

Sans got caught up in the kiss on his cheek, that when Red had finally built up his magic, it only occurred to Sans to question the secret password. 

_ Dodohead? Wait, it’s not doodoo butt? _

Though he only got to open his mouth before the familiar but stronger pull hit and dragged his body. 

Travelling through the Space Between in a matter of moments, and both he and Red now stood in a room. Red’s room to be exact, as that was the latter’s goal in mind. 

“Re—” Sans’ socket widened, and he rushed to catch the falling skeleton when Red wobbled forward.  _ “Red?”  _

Sans checked through their bond and let out a sigh of relief. Not in danger. Just fainted as his bondmate predicted. 

He pulled his partner in his embrace, and was about to put Red on the bed when he heard the rush of hard stomps getting louder. 

Sans’ body jumped as his head shot up to the intruder when the door slammed open, and his eye lights dilated at the sight of the tall, and seemed to be a pissed skeleton. Not too completely different from his own brother, except everything, Sans calmed himself enough to watch the other warily. He unconsciously tightened his hold on Red, securing him protectively in his arms as his gaze never left  _ Edge’s _ . 

Sharp and edgy all around, black and red attire, adorning battle worn scars here and there. It was easy to see that the latter was very experienced in fighting. And that would be a given since Red said that Edge was trying to manage the whole Underground with what was left of their population.

All in all, Sans had to hand it to Red’s brother for certainly earning his namesake. 

_ Oh shit. _ Sans must’ve been quiet for too long because Edge looked ready to attack him. No, kill was more appropriate.

Right. The secret password! B-But which one does he say?! His own, or the dodohead Red told him? 

Uuuhhh!!! No time! Just say it! 

“W-wait! I’m a stupid doodoo butt!” Stars, he hoped he chose the right one. 


	6. Chapter 6

Thankfully, the trip was a lot nicer on Red now that he wasn’t drugged. It still hurt some, but nowhere near as much as the first time. However, it still drained his magic greatly. He wobbled when they landed, eventually ending up in Sans’ arms. His world darkened, and soon he was passed out in his bondmate’s comforting hold.

Edge jolted at his desk when he heard noise from his brother’s room. He stood in an instant, moving to attack whoever dared to go into  _ his _ house and into  _ his _ brother’s room. When he got to the door, he slammed it open quickly, not daring to risk an ambush. 

When he saw his Red in the arms of another skeleton, his anger spiked. What had this monster done to his brother? If he thought he could hurt Red, he would be sorely mistaken.

When the monster spoke, though, it froze Edge in his tracks. It was a little different from the code he’d come up with his brother back when they were both little and the Underground peaceful, but he recognized it for what it was.

He didn’t relax much, but Edge would at least wait until Red was awake to harm this monster.

“Care to explain why you suddenly appeared with my ward two weeks after the Dog Guard informed me he was dead? And why he is unconscious?” Edge’s voice was sharp, angry.

\----

Sans relaxed a bit when he wasn’t attacked on the spot. Thank stars. 

Explain? Not a problem. Talking and babbling was his thing. Ah, but he doesn’t need to be an asshole to Red’s brother right? Or does he need to? Maybe he had to be a little bit of an ass? 

Oh, right. Explaining. He should get to that. Edge doesn’t seem to have much patience with him. 

“It’s kind of a long story, but I’ll keep it short just for ya.” Sans lifted Red up and headed to place the skeleton on the bed before turning back to face Edge. 

“For your first question. Teleporting. And for your second question. Teleporting.” 

How was that? A bit of an asshole yeah? But he was telling the truth. Giving it to the guy straight. 

\----

Edge growled at the skeleton in front of him. “You don’t seem to understand what position you are in,  _ whelp _ . The only reason I haven’t dusted you already is that you know the password. I’d suggest you tell me what I want to know.”

\----

“ _ Welp _ , that’s good to know.” Then Sans adorned a serious look, almost borderline intimidating. 

“But you’re right. Let’s get serious here. Ah,” he added. “But promise not to attack me while I’m telling the story, ‘kay? Not saying you can’t do it after, but just not during it. Got to get it all out, and if ya interrupt me, I’m not gonna tell ya any more.” 

Sans smiled nonchalantly. “How about it? We good?” 

\----

“That is.. an acceptable deal.” Edge had to bite back his own pride to accept the deal.

Normally he’d show a monster how he truly felt about being ordered around. This monster, however, not only had the password but also had no scars. It was possible that he didn’t have scars because he knew how to manipulate others, but Edge doubted it. He instead sat down in the middle of his brother’s floor to show with body language that he wouldn’t attack.

\----

When Sans saw the movement, he was more than relieved that Edge was willing to listen. 

So far, it was going much better than he hoped. 

Sans followed after with sitting by Red’s bed, using it as something to lean his back to. 

“Okay, so the name’s Sans, and I don’t know Red’s exact circumstances, but he suddenly popped into existence in  _ my _ world.” Clean and simple. 

“I took him in when I found him, and helped heal up his magic.” Oh. The awkward part. “It’s not going to sound any good however I put it, but I’ll tell it to ya straight. I poured my magic directly into his soul with the intent to help him. Nothing more. And I,” he paused to breathe. 

“I didn’t know it was a thing. ‘Cuz it’s not in my world. But it caused a weak one-sided bond between us … It wasn’t until I was …” He should say it. “Wasn’t until I was trying to kill myself that Red told it to me straight.” 

Good. Getting that out of the way to make room for more. 

“So we planned on breaking the bond. I had every intention to, just so ya know. Didn’t force him or anythin’. But Red insisted to form a full bond with me ‘cuz I was very close to Falling. He wouldn’t stop until I agreed.” 

Sans sighed inwardly, but pressed on. “And now, he and I are bondmates.” 

That was a good portion of it. And now to finish it off. 

“The couple of weeks, while with our issues, we both realized that it wasn’t healthy for us to keep staying in my world. Uh, well, it was more so for me, since I’m the only one alive there. So we decided to head back here.” 

Sans gestured to the two bags they brought. “We packed food, but could always go back to get some more. I got my clothes in the other bag, but could just very well be used for somethin’ else. Store some more important things, like more food if nothing.

“And if I could, I also plan to help out. Don't know how much though, but you're free to tell me and we can meet in the middle or somethin’ … And that’s all of it.” 

Sans let out a breath. He said everything necessary and honestly. 

All up to Edge now, Sans thought, as he waited patiently for what the latter was going to do, or say. 

\----

At first, it was only his agreement to hear Sans out that kept Edge from skewering him. He had sacrificed so much to protect his brother, even taking on the mantle of leader. And this monster had up and  _ claimed _ him in the worst way possible. 

However, as Sans continued talking, he relaxed, more so than he had before. He would have to confirm this story with his brother, but if it really was true, then that could be better than Edge had hoped for. He opened his mouth to speak, only to freeze when he saw Red starting to wake up.

Red opened his eyes, taking in the blurry world around him. He tried to activate his eyelights, only to sigh when he had trouble doing so. He reached through his bond to pull a small amount of magic from Sans. His eyelights flickered on and he took in the position Sans and his brother were in. Edge seemed to be fairly relaxed, so it seemed like all had gone well.

Red crawled over to his brother, giving him a rare hug. Edge was surprised, but after a moment returned the hug tightly. He curled around his brother, a tear escaping his control. “I was told you were dead. I knew something about their story didn’t line up, I held hope that you’d come back to me. I’m so glad you’re okay, brother.”

Red shot a sad, guilty look at his brother. He reached up to gently wipe away the tear. “It was the dogs. They managed ta get Chillby ta drug my drink with some sort of heat inducer. It completely messed up my magic, so I wasn’t able ta get away safely. I only risked a port when they told me they were going ta.. u-use me. Return me t-ta yer broken-n so they might be able ta ki-kill yer.”

Edge’s vision went red at his brother’s words. Those dogs would  _ pay _ . But first he needed to care for his smaller brother. “Is what this other monster said true? You have a mate now?”

Red smiled up at his brother’s question. “Yeah. Sans is really great. Can be a bit of an ass at times, but he’s a good guy.”

“That is a relief.” Edge said as he reached up for Red’s collar. “I suppose I should remove this then. It wouldn’t be fair for me to hold a claim over you.”

Edge gently removed the collar, setting it beside him. He still held Red in his lap, however. After fearing his brother had died, he felt like he at least earned this contact.

Red took a deep breath, preparing himself to ask an important question. “H-hey Boss? I w-was wondering if y-yer’d be willing ta go back ta Sans’ world. Maybe bring a few of tha monsters here who could actually change fer the better.”

Edge closed his eyes, considering the offer. It would be a big change, not to mention giving up on the majority of monsters here.

But what had monsters here done to earn his efforts? These days the good monsters were few and far between. Even the dogs, who Edge had thought he could trust, turned out to be power hungry.

Not to mention that if he decided to stay, Red likely would too. Most of what Edge did, he did for his fragile brother. He didn’t even like ruling, not by any means. Leaving this place would be the best for Red, he knew that.

And that was enough for him.

“We will have to prepare carefully. If anything, I know now that even those I felt I could trust can turn against us. The dog’s loyalty was false, and if we leave to make a new kingdom, then we will have to have new subjects we can trust.” Edge said, mind already racing as he tried to decide who he could trust to take with them. “How many monsters do you think the two of you would be able to take back? Does your world have good infrastructure set up? What will we need to make to support those we take back with us?”

Edge aimed his questions at his now brother-in-law. By asking him this, he was also trying to ask subtly if the other monster was alright with the idea of accepting other monsters into his home.

\----

Sans sensed Red waking up, feeling the pull of his magic through their bond. But the whole time, he stayed quiet. 

He didn’t really mind that Red sat on Edge’s lap. If anything, he was elated to have the brothers reunite. 

A sense of yearning and forlorn hit his soul; getting reminded of his own brother. 

Sans clutched onto Papyrus’ scarf. He couldn’t stop his tears from welling up as he smiled sadly at the garment. He missed his own brother dearly. 

He wished … He could hug Papyrus too, tell him how much he loved and missed him, even if it was for the last time. 

Ah, shit. Sans wiped his tears away. Wouldn’t do to emit such emotions when Red and Edge were busy brotherly bonding. 

He looked back at them with a smile, just listening to them talk. Sans would’ve considered leaving to give them privacy, but he told Red that he’d stick to the latter like glue. So he stayed put and stayed quiet. 

He was surprised that Edge actually accepted him as Red’s mate. He thought he made a pretty bad first impression. 

And became even more surprised when Edge actually considered going back with them. 

Then, the questions were directed at him. “Yeah, I don’t mind. Would do good to liven the place up.” It has been a ghost town for too long. And this sounded like a good sign to move on. 

“I could probably take two, up to three back per porting. But I gotta rest in between for a couple of hours. As for the infrastructure, yeah, we have it all. It’s just unkempt. Would need maintenance, and fixing up a couple of stuff here and there but nothing that should be too troublesome.” He explained, recalling all the times he walked around the empty areas. “As for how to convince others, ‘fraid I’m not sure. Goin’ to another world to start over already sounds far-fetched. Even if it were true.” 

Bribery was the first thing he thought, but he wasn’t about to say it. Maybe the two had better ideas, since they know more about the monsters here than him. 

\----

Edge closed his eyes, trying to find ways he could do this. He was jolted out of his thoughts by Red speaking. “We could try using the Ruins. We left the monsters there seperate from the main kingdom since Seabreath’s kill or be killed law never reached them. If anything, we at least know we can probably trust them. Maybe after we get all the weaker monsters there over ta Sans’ world, we could let a few other monsters into the Ruins ta test how well we can trust ‘em. Make ‘em think tha the Ruins is gonna be our new kingdom, then when we know we can trust ‘em, send them over.”

Edge nodded to Red. “Excellent planning as always, Brother.” Red blushed, happy for the praise. Edge didn’t often compliment Red, which always made it feel that much more real when he did.

And of course, Edge was still holding him close. It made Red feel bad that he had been planning to leave Edge like that.

\----

Sans wasn’t sure if he should say anything. He didn’t want to ruin their moment together. Especially when he could feel Red’s happiness through their bond. 

Guess he’ll just have to be the party pooper. Funny. He didn’t think he’d steal Jerry’s title. “Sounds like ya guys have it all figured out then?” 

He was also curious about how different their world was to his own. And maybe, see how different the monsters were as well. 

\----

Red shot Sans a happy smile, getting up from Edge’s lap so he could go press a small kiss to the top of his mate’s skull. He was really grateful that Sans was giving them this option. For so long they had been stuck with no option but to deal with the bad monsters. To deal with seeing light after light go out as the few good monsters were killed or went bad themselves.

But now they could just take the good away with them to a safe place. They could just leave all the rotten monsters to kill themselves off. All thanks to Sans. “Yer the best, sweetheart. Let’s head to the Ruins so we can see how the monsters there are doing.”

Edge watched the mates interact with a smile. His brother finally had found someone to love, and Sans seemed more than worthy. They had hope for the future, more than he could have hoped for over the last two weeks when he would merely have been glad to know his brother was alive. “You two go on ahead, I’ll start compiling lists of who we can and can’t trust. If any monsters are willing to leave from the Ruins right away, just make sure that you take those with the lowest LV first. It seems like you will be vulnerable right after teleporting, so we need to make sure you both are safe when you make the leaps.”

Red nodded at his brother, grabbing Sans’ hand so they could port to the Ruins.

\----

“I didn’t do much to help. It’s you guys that did all the brain work.” Sans said as he got up from his spot to stand by Red’s side. 

He listened to Edge’s words intently. He didn’t want to fuck up now there was a bright future ahead of them. 

YOU GOT THIS BROTHER! I BELIEVE IN YOU! 

He could practically hear his brother’s words of encouragement, and it made his soul swell with hope. 

He could do this. And he was going to do it right. 

A new chapter was going to start. And stars, Sans was more than ready for it. He had Red, and now, he even had Edge. This was his family now. And he wasn’t going to allow anything bad happen to both of them. 

“Got it, Boss.” He good-naturedly teased, unable to help himself. It felt like the weights on him were lifting. Everything was changing, and for the better. 

He grasped Red’s hand, giving it an encouraging squeeze from how excited he felt, before they finally ported out. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thankfully a shorter chapter! X'D  
> Chapter 2 completely posted


	7. Chapter 7

When they landed, Red’s vision blurred slightly. He was suddenly very glad he’d hidden a bottle of mustard in his pocket. He had to lean slightly on Sans as he took a few gulps. “So-sorry. Running on empty here. Just give me a moment and we can go further in.”

\----

Sans immediately wrapped an arm around Red’s lower back to support him. “It’s fine. You did teleport us through worlds and now here. I’d be more surprised if that didn’t tire ya at all.” 

Then he suggested, “Why don’t we rest a few yeah? Shouldn’t be too bad considering you guys said this was the safest place.” 

And to be honest, Sans had never really gone past the gates of the Ruins. He’d only visit and sat by the door to talk to his pun lady friend. As such, the skeleton couldn’t stop himself from looking around at the interior with curiosity. 

Purple bricked decor all around, and quite the space too. He wondered how many monsters were housed here then. 

\----

“Y-yeah, okay.” Red moved over to the wall, sinking down and leaning against it. He closed his eyes, exhausted.

He fell asleep in moments, the over-use of his magic taking its toll on him.

\----

Seeing that Red had fallen asleep, Sans smiled and took a seat by his side. His soul swelled when Red leaned on his shoulder right after. 

As curious as Sans was, he would never leave his mate. Even if he could teleport back in an instant, he didn't want to risk something happening to his partner. Especially not when he didn't know the place all too well and the monsters that lurked within. 

Ah, well, speaking of monsters. 

Sans raised a brow in amusement when he saw a couple of curious eyes straight ahead, peeking from the turning corner. 

What luck. Saved him the time and effort of looking for them. 

He gave a gentle smile and a friendly wave with his opposite arm that Red wasn't using as a pillow. 

And slowly, the monsters seemed to trickle out one by one, seeing that Sans hadn't done anything at all. 

The monsters were curious about the new strangers that suddenly popped into existence. And seemingly harmless and friendly, they began to approach them. 

Sans continued to stay lax as they neared. Wouldn't do to be tense when he was going to try and talk to them about the plan. Not that Sans wasn't alert enough that he wouldn't teleport back if needed to. 

Stars. He hadn't seen any other kind of monster other than Red and Edge in a long time. He might tear up again just from remembering how lively his world was from before. But he wouldn't. It would look weird, first and foremost. 

"'Sup?" Start with a casual greeting. 

Before Sans, there were Froggits, Whimsuns, Moldsmals. The skeleton could see Loox, Migosp, and … was that Vegetoid? It was hard to tell, but they stayed behind and just continued peeping. 

Then Sans’ eye lights dilated with delight in seeing Napstablook slowly appearing before him as well. 

“How’s it goin’?” 

No one answered Sans immediately nor returned the greeting, but Napstablook spoke first. “I-I’m fine. Thanks.” 

“Heh, looks like you just need somethin’ to lift up your spirits.” 

“Heh … Heh …” 

Sans wanted to chuckle. It seemed that even here, the monster still didn’t seem to have a sense of humour. 

The skeleton looked to the rest of the monsters, and began to liven up the quietness with his talk. 

He complimented Froggit, who simply blushed deeply despite not understanding what was said, but was flattered anyway. There was suddenly a faint scent of mustard seed as Froggit croaked. 

Then he tried to console Whimsun, but the latter continued apologizing, getting him nowhere. Oh great. Now there was lavender and mothballs mixed in with mustard. Sans didn’t know how to feel about it, but at least the monster wasn’t running away as it tended to. 

Moldsmal … Sans wiggled his body in his sitting position, and the latter jiggled back. What a meaningful conversation! Looked like his flirting worked there too. 

And lastly, Sans continued to cheer up Napstablook. Eventually leading up to the ghost doing a short and small performance to become "Dapper blook". 

The skeleton was over the moon. It’d been so long! Stars. 

Sans savoured the moment however nonsensical and small it may be. And eventually, he also saw the other monsters coming closer. As well as more of the same kind! 

Heh. Sans didn’t think that he was still quite the conversationalist. Good to know he could still be charming then. 

Once a good amount of them had gathered, Sans decided it was time to let them know about the plan. 

“This is quite the crowd. Good thing too. See, ya guys already know that it’s hell out there. But we have a solution for this.” Sans smiled with confidence he didn’t know where it came from. “We’re going to make a  _ new  _ kingdom. The whole shebang. All spick and span and ready to start brand new. And,” He paused for dramatic effect, and based on their reactions, they were fairly hooked on what he had to say. “We’re going to do it in  _ another  _ world.” 

He watched their reactions carefully, and after several rounds, Sans allowed himself to sigh with relief. No one seemed opposed to it. So far so good. Now, to explain the how. 

\----

When Red woke up, he found himself leaning on Sans. Sans seemed to be joking around with the various monsters hidden in the Ruins. Red’s soul swelled with affection. Trust Sans to manage to get these monsters at ease. When Red had managed to port in the Ruins the first time, any time he saw a monster, he saw their backs as they scuttled away. And yet here they all were, perfectly at ease.

Sans was explaining how they’d get monsters over to his shell of an Underground. Red just shifted a little bit before watching his mate with fuzzy, happy sockets.

_ Stars _ , he’d really gotten lucky with this one. Red had already compared Sans to a shining star, but seeing him truly happy like this, surrounded by other monsters... Well, Red would have no need for the sun, seeing as Sans was brighter than he imagined the sun ever would be.

A rumble started in Red’s chest, and he found himself purring for the first time in years. He blushed, embarrassed that he’d just started purring like that, in front of all those people. He turned his head, hiding his face in Sans’ shoulder.

\----

Sans was caught off-guard when he heard the sudden purring by his side. He was so engaged in conversing that he didn’t realize Red had already woken up. A blush, and a gentle smile appeared on his face when he felt happiness and love through their bond. 

He found it extremely adorable that the latter tried to hide his embarrassment, and returned the affection by kissing the top of Red’s head. He wasn’t abashed to display affection in public, and the monsters before them did not seem to mind it at all. 

“Mornin’ sweetie. How’s your rest? Told ‘em we’ll be teleporting them in groups of four, and that we’ll need to take turns doing so. Napstablook even volunteered to keep the others in check when we need to rest up before taking more of them with us.” 

Sans looked at the monsters, counting to twenty in total. It wasn’t bad, but would still probably be too much for both of them; especially for Red. “Do you need more rest? Or are ya up to porting again?” 

\----

Red nuzzled into Sans for a moment before moving back a bit. He stretched his limbs, and tapped into his magic just slightly to make sure he had enough to make it through. “Yeah, I can port again. Who’re we taking first?”

\----

Sans was tempted to say to just grab a handful. “Already had them grouped, so just take whichever along. We should also port at the same time so we can rest and manage our magic.” 

Sans moved to get up, pulling Red up along before he stretched his back, sighing at the sounds of the cracks. 

“All right then. Let’s get this done.” Sans grinned, and walked over to a group. Then, he glanced back at Red. “Ready?”

\----

Red met Sans’ gaze before nodding. He gathered his magic, surrounding the group with it. The moment he had a firm grasp on everyone, he ported.

This one was worse than when he was drugged. Pain tore at his bones. He hoped the monsters with him didn’t feel it like he did. He was starting to panic some, worried that he’d run out of magic part of the way through. He was just about ready to leach as little as he could from Sans when he finally landed.

He blacked out instantly, crumpling into a limp pile.

\----

They ported in the Ruins of his own world. It was best to keep them in place somewhere while they try to get the others. 

The pull wasn’t as bad as he’d expected, but his eyes would’ve bulged if it could when he saw Red fall down. 

_ “Red!” _ He quickly ran to his mate, immediately kneeling down as the monsters around them gave way. Supporting the skeleton, Sans turned Red over and checked in their bond for danger. 

Exhaustion and Unconscious. 

Sans let out an exasperated sigh mixed in with relief. If he knew it was going to be like this, he wouldn’t have let Red port at all. 

He looked back up at the monsters watching them, and gave them a wry smile. “Heh, looks like there’s been a little change in the transportation plan, but nothing that can’t be fixed.” He brought Red up, carrying his mate princess-style. 

“I’m just gonna take him somewhere to rest. You guys just wait here, ‘cuz I’ll still be bringing the others.” 

Sans ported back to his room, and gently placed Red on the bed. He even tucked him in and kissed his mate’s cheek, before going to the kitchen. He looked at the ketchup bottles and downed  _ two _ of them to fill up his magic reserves. 

Okay. You can do this Sans. No biggie. Just port the monsters to the Ruins, and then drink a bottle or two of ketchup to replace a portion of the depleted magic. 

And away he went. If it were a movie or some game, Sans swore that he rightfully deserved to have some montage background music play along. 

Twelve … Sixteen … Nineteen. 

Sweat was dripping down Sans’ skull. He was heaving, and had his palms on his knees for support. He stopped counting how many bottles he’d drank in order to keep teleporting without much rest. 

Sans inhaled deeply when he went back to the Ruins of Red’s world and almost collapsed completely in front of Napstablook. The skeleton couldn’t stop himself from falling to his hands and knees; droplets of sweat hitting the cold floor as he panted to catch his breath. 

“Are … you okay?” 

Sans didn’t even have the energy to look up at the ghost, but could tell that the latter hovered over to him. 

“Just … N-Need to rest a bit.” 

He wanted to flop himself down and give the floor a heartwarming embrace. But he also needed to report to Edge about the situation. However, he could only port one more time before he called it quits. In fact, Sans was sure he was going to completely hit face-first on the floor in front of Edge. Not quite enough to make him pass out, but he would lose all strength in his limbs to move. Heh. Actually, he might actually fall asleep too. Ah, but not yet. He could still probably talk enough to tell the tall skeleton what he needed to hear. 

Sans pushed at his knees to straighten himself up, and tiredly looked at Napstablook. “Gotta tell Edge about the progress, but I only have one more puff in me to port. So ‘m afraid you’ll be comin’ with me for it. Sound okay, buddy?”

“That’s fine.” And the ghost was practically in Sans right after. It startled the skeleton from the sudden rush of cold clashing with the heat of his bones. Though, it did good to cool it down, because Sans felt like he might overheat himself. 

“Heh. You don’t ghost around.” 

“... Actually … I do.”

Sans inwardly sighed as he smiled on the outside. Then he ported one more time. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EM: I did my best to act those monsters X'D Needed a wiki for sure because I don't know their dialogues very well. ahahaha. Happy bout napsta tho!


	8. Chapter 8

Edge spent a long day sorting through things. He compiled lists from the census he had taken just a month ago. First and easiest list was the people he had absolutely zero trust in. Then people he found unwise to trust. Then people who he thought he could trust at first (this one being Chillby and the dogs). Then he tried to put together a list of people he  _ actually _ trusted. His brother was the only monster on that list.

In the end he decided to just use the list of people who he only kind of trusted. He’d advise that all monsters be taken out of the Ruins, so the innocents there weren’t hurt if he was wrong in trusting some of these monsters. Only fourteen monsters made it to the final list.

Betta, that damned fish, had ruined monsters.

What does it say that only sixteen monsters were possibly salvageable out of an entire kingdom?

Edge was almost happy when he was taken out of his mind by movement in Red’s room. He made his way up to the room, looking forward to seeing his brother again.

\----

Sans hit the floor face-first just as he predicted without preamble as Napstablook hovered above him. 

Ffuucki—

The door swung open with a loud bang that had Sans wince. He wasn’t even given time to mourn for his pain. The short skeleton slowly looked up. Seeing the red boots, he had the urge to just talk to it rather than bother looking  _ all the way up  _ just to meet Edge’s eyes. 

So he did. “Hey, Edge.” He plopped his chin on the floor. “Red’s back ‘t my world. Sleepin’ in m’room.” He was slurring a bit due to his position. Stars. Those are some shiny red boots. Must be polished often or something. “Dun’wrry. All the monsters’r in the Ruins … ‘cept Napstabuddy.”

Napstablook gave a timid wave at Edge, slightly moving back in case Sans managed to get up. “Except me.” 

\----

Edge glared down at Sans. “Of all the irresponsible—Has my brother told you nothing about this world?”

He bent over, scooping up the smaller skeleton. He plopped him down on the bed, gentler than he wanted to be in that moment. “Rest. When you wake up, we’re going to have a conversation about pushing yourself like this.”

He strode over to the window, doing a check to make sure that it was locked securely, and that the magic was woven into the glass to protect it from bullets of both the magical and non-magical sort. That done, he motioned for the ghost to follow him out of the room.

\----

Sans groaned, and practically pouted at the light scolding. Geez, give him some credit here. That shit was exhausting as fuck, and he managed to soldier on and not be lazy to delay the plan any longer. 

It was becoming near impossible to hold onto his consciousness, and he blurrily watched Edge’s retreating figure. 

“Did I ... do good?” He asked in a whisper before darkness took over. 

\----

Edge sighed at the small question. He wondered how he should respond. He glanced back at Sans, only to realize that he had already fallen asleep.

Looks like he’d get a moment to think.

Edge led the ghost to the living room where all the windows were blocked up. The only window that wasn’t blocked up in the house was Red’s, since Edge didn’t want to take that one small thing from him. He just kept up a magic barrier on the window instead. “You should be safe down here. If anyone knocks on the door, go hide in the room we just came from. I don’t have any ghost food, unfortunately. If there’s anything else I can do for you, just let me know.”

Edge went back to his paperwork, waiting for Sans to wake up so he could properly scold him. He supposed that for someone from a nicer place, it might be normal to push to get things done like that. However, in a place like this, that just leads to death. Edge had tried and failed to teach his brother this. He only hoped that Sans would actually listen.

\----

Since Napstablook also needed to wait for Sans, he quietly laid himself on the floor and did nothing else. 

Only a couple of hours had passed before Sans came to. And oh boy, was he in for a rollercoaster he didn’t remember signing up for. 

Upon opening his eyes, the blurry world seemed to spin around him that he had to close it shut. Then, an inexplicable pain exploded in his head, and his body rattled from it. Sans found it suddenly difficult to orient himself, and had a hard time seeing things clearly. 

_ Fuck. _

He’d really done it himself with overworking his magic. 

Exhaustion seeped into his bones whilst adorning thorns for the prickling pain racking his body. 

He let out a trembling exhale as he tried to delve into his core and calm the ache. 

Sans didn’t know how long  _ that _ took, but eventually, he managed to breath in and out more easily. He still couldn’t see as clearly as before, but it was as if he had worn Alphys’ glasses. So it was manageable. 

He checked through his bond, and found that it was still calm—relaxed. Sans was relieved. Good. Red was still resting. And somehow, Sans didn’t know how to feel about that. Because with such deep sleep meant his mate wouldn’t have felt his pain, and at the same time, had pushed himself hard enough that he’d need a longer time to recuperate. 

He supposed it was just well that Red was safe and sound. 

Sans then, attempted to sit upright, ignoring the lingering sensation in his aching bones. He took out some ketchup packets from his pocket, and didn’t even need to think before ripping it open and drinking them all. 

After the fifth packet, the ache was unnoticeable and his vision cleared just a bit more. Sans deemed himself ready and was prepared to get out of bed. 

Though, just as he stood up, he crashed on the floor. Oh. Whoops. Guess he wasn’t as ready as he thought. 

Ah shit. Hope no one heard that. Since Napstablook and Edge weren’t around, Sans inwardly hoped the sound didn’t travel to be heard downstairs, or that the two monsters simply left the house. 

Sans stayed on the floor once more. And he laughed a bit. “Hey, buddy. Ya missed me? ‘Cuz I didn’t think I’d miss you.”

\----

Edge practically ran when he heard a thud from Red’s room. He opened the door cautiously, only to relax when he heard Sans’ sarcastic comment.

Stars, it was like his brother had multiplied. Instead of one person to worry about, he suddenly had two little devils trying to make his non-existent hair go grey.

Edge let out a small huff, picking Sans up gently and sitting him up on the bed. He pulled a vial out of his pocket, unscrewing it and handing it to the magic-drained skeleton. “Here, drink this. My own special recipe for when Red pulls this stunt.”

He made sure  _ not _ to mention the awful taste. Let that be his revenge for the worry.

\----

“... Is it safe?” Sans still took it regardless. It was purplish black, downright slimy gooey-looking. He looked at Edge skeptically, and then to the mysterious vial. 

Well … If Red survived, then he should too. 

Sans braced himself and shut his eyes as he gulped the whole thing down in one-go. 

_ Nope! _ No amount of bracing could prepare him for the horrendous taste. He almost instinctively spat it out, as tears cropped up in his eye sockets. 

Begrudgingly, he swallowed it all down. Because if Red could do it, so could fucking he. 

He opened his eyes to look back at Edge. And was tempted to throw the damn vial at his face. 

He knew the latter knew, and didn’t even bother to warn him. 

_ “Delicious.” _ He muttered sarcastically. But even though it tasted  _ vile _ , he did feel his magic energy increase. Now, he could fully see … still a little blurred because of his tears that he wiped away. There we go. Ah, shit, maybe he should just go blind instead of seeing that smugness on Edge’s face. 

He was  _ really _ tempted to throw the vial. 

\----

“ _ Good. _ Now, maybe you’ll think twice before doing something that could get you killed again. You should never,  _ never _ drain your magic and then go somewhere that you aren’t 100% sure is safe. If I was out of the house and monsters were to break in, like they have before, then you would be dead. I understand that you are new to this, but this isn’t the sort of thing that you can mess up.” Edge closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to calm down. Shouting wouldn’t get anything done.

“It was pure luck that I was still in the house. I had planned to leave not even an hour after you came to go take care of the idiot who drugged my brother. Nearly every time I’m busy putting miscreants in jail, my house is broken into. It takes me hours to properly contain high LV monsters properly, and everyone knows it.

“You very well could have died, Sans.”

\----

The thought of death shouldn’t have shaken him up like before, but it did. It had him freeze in place. 

Because no longer was he alone in this. 

If he dies,  _ Red  _ dies too. 

He couldn’t afford that. He already swore to protect him and keep him safe. And Edge was right, that meant taking care of himself as well. 

Sans felt guilt and remorse for his actions. He really wasn’t thinking clearly. He might have fucked everything up  _ again _ . 

The tears welled up without his notice. 

If … If they were also gone … all because of him. 

Sans felt a deep ache in his soul surface. He hoped that it wouldn’t be enough to disturb Red’s sleep. So he kept telling himself to calm down. To push the memories to the recesses of his mind. 

It’s fine. They were all alive. They’re  _ still  _ alive. It hasn’t happened yet. Nothing’s happened. 

They’re going to make a new kingdom. A new beginning. Things will be fine. 

Sans continued to mentally console himself, unbeknownst that the tears continued to spill from his eyes, and that he kept muttering ‘Not again. It’s all my fault.’ over and over again. 

\----

Edge cursed lowly under his breath. He had  _ not _ meant to make Sans cry. He hovered, trying to figure out what he was supposed to do with a crying Sans. Eventually he just leaned forward and wrapped Sans in what he hoped was a comforting hold.

Red tossed and turned for a few moments, before blinking awake. He was still in a fair deal of pain, and his magic was non-existent. As such, it took him another few moments before he realized what had woken him up.

Sans.

Red shot up, which was in itself a bad idea. It felt like hot needles were being shoved into his bones. He gasped for air, finding even breathing hard. “Sans?”

No response to his shout came. He was borderline panicking after a few moments of silence. He called out a couple more times, still no answer. Sans was drowning in guilt and remorse, and Red was stuck here. He didn’t even know where Sans was!

He pushed himself to his feet despite the pain so he could search for Sans. He had to pull a small amount of magic from Sans so he could light his eyes to clear his vision. Even still, he ended up crashing against the doorway.

He slid to the ground, frustrated tears welling in his eyes. He felt useless, stuck on the floor while Sans needed him.

_ Stars _ , could Sans even handle those sorts of emotions right now? He had nearly Fallen Down just two weeks ago!

“Sans.” Red called out one last time, barely louder than a whisper.

\----

Sans was jolted back to reality when he felt both the arms around him, and Red’s distress through their bond. 

O-Oh fuck. Red. He woke up Red and, before even thinking about it, Sans teleported without a word; taking Edge along with him. 

They landed on the floor by the bed; crashing loudly as Edge landed beside him. 

The dizziness hit Sans, but still he did his damnest to move his body. Crawl if he must as he cried out for his mate. 

He wanted to comfort his mate. That everything was all right. That he was still here like he promised. 

And he himself wanted confirmation that his partner was still well. 

But stars, he couldn’t see clearly through his tears. Had he been crying? When had that happened? 

Sans didn’t know, but despite his efforts to even crawl to his mate, his body laid prone on the floor, unable to move. 

It made him feel helpless. And hopelessness from before was starting to sink in again. He thought he already clogged it up. But still they linger. Still they taunt. 

And Sans found himself gasping for breath. The pressure became unbearable all of a sudden, and he found himself gripping his brother’s scarf for support. 

_ Scared. _ He was so scared. It was happening again. He was going to lose everything again. All ‘cuz of him. He was fucking up all over again. 

And Sans just can’t  _ breathe _ .


	9. Chapter 9

Edge had to hold back another curse when he was abruptly pulled through a teleport. He  _ really _ could have scolded Sans better. Now thanks to him, the small skeleton was literally trying and failing to  _ crawl across the floor _ to his mate. And Red’s reaction only made the guilt worse.

Red had tears of his own streaming across his face. He gave a loud cry of Sans’ name, rushing towards his mate. He scooped him up in trembling arms, resting Sans against him. He pressed kisses to his mate’s skull, whispering assurances between presses of his teeth. “It’s alright, I’m here. I’m here, you’re here, we’re safe. It’s alright, it’s alright.”

His words were broken by a sob, and he held Sans just that much closer. He pushed his teeth against Sans’ in a chaste kiss.

He had been so worried, even afraid for his mate. Being separated and forced to feel Sans’ distress had made him feel so helpless.

He had promised himself he’d protect Sans, and yet when Sans needed him, all he could do was wait until Sans came to him.

\----

His eye lights were hazy, but Sans felt another body against him. The warmth seeping into his cold bones. He couldn’t understand what was being said, or what was entirely happening, but Sans continued to focus on the warmth. 

He gasped harshly, finally able to intake air, before his body just melted into the hold. 

The tears continued to pour down as he sniffled and weakly grabbed onto the body before him. Through the bond, he faintly realized that it was Red he was holding on to. 

_ Safe. Red was safe. Not dead. Edge was here too. Not dead. Alive. All alive. Safe.  _

They were safe. 

It took moments for Sans to process it and allow it to sink it. 

It was fine. They were fine. 

“R-Red. I-It’s okay. ‘M s-sorry for … w-worryin’ you.” He hiccupped and sniffled, and Sans felt awful about it. Can’t do anything right anymore. Stars. How could he be so weak. Reduced to a crying mess when his mate’s been in distress. Such a stupid fuck up he was. Why did he think—

Stop. Stop thinking. Supposed to try being better. Not this. 

Sans stayed in Red’s hold as he calmed. The fatigue suddenly hitting him full-force that he wanted to rest, but forced himself not to. Not yet. There was still work to be done. 

And he had to apologize to Edge for dragging him along suddenly. He couldn’t move though, so he just uttered. “‘M s-sorry too, Edge.” He didn’t even have the heart to joke and call the latter Boss. 

He was just … Sans inwardly sighed at himself. Just when everything was starting to look up … Why was he such a mess. 

\----

Red’s soul broke all over again when Sans started apologizing. He could feel hate through the bond, and he knew it wasn’t directed at anyone but the soul it came from. 

He didn’t think that Sans was going to fall now that things had calmed down some. However, that made him all the more clueless as to what he should do. He simply clung to the monster in his embrace, a few more tears sliding down his cheeks.

Edge moved closer to the two, grabbing Sans’ chin gently to move him to meet his gaze. “Stop. You are only hurting yourself like this. I can’t know for sure what’s going on in that head of yours, but your faces both tell me well enough. You can blame yourself all you want, but that won’t change the past. All we can do is try to change the future. And don’t you dare try to change the kindness you have.”

Edge gave Sans a hard look, before dropping his hand to give Sans a firm poke to the center of his chest. “You are our  _ greatest  _ asset. You’re the last one standing in this world or ours who still knows what true kindness is like. The only one who remembers truly what it is to be a monster.”

Red couldn’t help but shoot Edge a smile that was tied between pride and gratitude. His brother really was the coolest.

\----

Greatest asset? True kindness? Sans didn’t feel like he was or portrayed such a thing. 

But what managed to hit Sans was that the past can’t be changed. Not anymore at least. 

The future … There was still hope for it. They’ve said it earlier, but the idea must’ve not sunk in. Edge was right. Nothing would change if he kept blaming himself. 

It was still hard to not get reminded of such a past, but with Red and Edge, and now this new kingdom with new monsters, Sans hoped himself that he would be able to completely break away from it. 

“O-Okay.” Sans sniffled. He can’t believe it yet, but he’d at the very least he’ll try. “I-I’ll try.” Sans breathed out. “T-Thanks,” then he chuckled, rather raspy and choked up due to crying. “Boss. Hehe.” 

He was being a little shit in the end, but he couldn’t stop the happiness humming in his soul. He felt safe, and felt securely protected by his family now. 

\----

Edge scoffed, rolling his eyes in feigned disdain for the nickname. Red smiled sweetly at the two, soul light with relief. Everyone was okay.

“Yer have no idea how happy yer make me, sweetheart. We may both be a bit of a mess, but stars. I think I might just be in love.” Red’s tone was joking, but he knew that if Sans paid attention to how he felt, he’d realize the truth of the statement.

The past few minutes had been enough to make him think. And he realized that he hadn’t reacted the way he had to Sans’ distress because he had been worried that Sans would Fall and take Red with him, or because he didn’t want to feel so upset because of the bond. No, he just didn’t want to even think about his mate being so upset.

Somehow, in just two weeks he’d managed to come to care for Sans more than he ever could have imagined caring for anyone but his own brother.

\----

The words and feelings jolted Sans. His hands travelled to the ones still wrapped around his waist. He dared not turn, unsure of the expression he was making as he heard the loud pounding of his soul; unbridled joy swelling and coursing in their bond from him. 

Red, in love with him? Stars, it felt surreal. 

A bond initially made for the sake of him not Falling, to slowly sharing affections, warming up to each other as bondmates. Considering how much he had done, he didn't think that Red would even … Deep down he thought it was just Red’s way to keep him in check since they were connected. 

But now, the honest sincerity in those words and what he felt had Sans think otherwise. 

Sans was already falling for Red but never pushing. To hear this, it made him feel so loved. So damn  _ happy _ . 

He couldn’t stop the  _ giggle _ bubbling up. “M-Me too. Hehehe.” 

Lucky. He was so lucky. Sans covered his face. He was sure he was wearing a stupid expression as he sobbed. There were just so many things hitting him in a short amount of time. He’s honestly surprised himself that he still had tears left to spill. 

“Don’t l-look. ‘M j-just happy.” He managed to say, hoping that it was still audible through his cupped hands. 

\----

Realizing what was happening between Red and Sans, Edge stood and went to leave the room to give the lovebirds some space. 

\----

Hearing the steps, Sans looked up from his hands and saw Edge about to leave. His voice, already so raspy that Sans didn’t think he’d still be able to shout loud. 

“W-Wait!” He reached for a gloved hand with both hands. “D-Don’t go. S-Stay please.” 

Edge was just as important as Red to him, and he wanted the comfort of both his family members. 

\----

Edge froze halfway to the door. He glanced back and caught the gaze of two skeletons. When Red waved him over, he sighed and went back over to the other two. He scooped the both of them up and onto his lap. If they were going to make him stay, then he’d get the physical contact he craved. He didn’t have to hold it back here, far from anyone who would try to take advantage of it.

Red smiled, leaning into the hug. He felt warm, surrounded by the two people he loved. His eyes drifted shut, exhaustion creeping back up on him. “Fallin’ back asleep.”

Edge moved to support Sans so he wouldn’t fall when Red drifted off. “Rest well, Red.”

\----

“Night, Red.” Sans yawned too, but he didn’t want to sleep. 

He also realized that they left Napstablook behind. Kind of a wasted trip then. If only he didn’t freak out. 

“How’s the preparation going on your end? We left Napstabuddy too. Maybe he could be one of the officials for the new kingdom or something.” 

\----

“This whole thing has... revealed to me how little I trust my own citizens. I’ve got a short list of people who I don’t have reason not to trust. This... might be more of a settlement than a kingdom. Betta, the one who started the kill or be killed, changed us all.” Edge sighed at this, closing his eyes. He remembered how shocked he was when he took the latest census. He remembered that there used to be nearly five thousand monsters at the first census he took.

“As of about a month ago, there were only three hundred monsters left. The average LV is seven. I have the most LV at sixteen. Betta had nineteen when I dusted her.” Edge started shaking a little. It was hardly noticeable, suppressed as all of Edge’s signs of emotion were.

Hiding his LV wouldn’t end well, but...

What would this fragile, innocent monster think of his LV? Would he fear Edge? Hate him?

\----

Hearing such a high LV, Sans felt that if it weren’t for the resets and loads, he’d probably be around there too. He wasn’t new to killing after all. And with Red’s and Edge’s rule of ‘kill or be killed’ previously, it was understandable for survival. 

Sans only found himself humming and leaning closer to Edge’s warmth. Memories of him cuddling up to his own brother had him feeling a little forlorn, but not enough to depress him. And at that, he wanted to give himself a pat in the back, feeling that he was getting better at … well, bettering himself. 

“Hmm, 7 huh. S’not as bad as I thought.” Sans yawned helplessly, but he was wide awake. “With the new rules and proper ruling, then overtime, that LV would go down.” He smiled at the thought. “Sounds like somethin’ to look forward to.” 

\----

Edge couldn’t help the overwhelming relief that he felt at Sans’ reaction. He held the two in his lap even closer. Red really had found a good mate. 

For so long, Edge had worried that Red’s kindness would get him killed. That his empathy would be his downfall. And yet, here they were. After struggling so hard just to keep his brother safe, this was almost like a dream to him. But if it was just a dream, he never wanted to wake up.

He finally had a chance at happiness. It wouldn’t be easy, figuring out how to start this new kingdom. However, when had Edge’s life ever been easy?

He’d just have to keep the two that gave him this chance safe.

“Get some rest, little star. Plans can wait until the morning.” Edge moved slowly, going to the bed and laying down with Red and Sans still in his arms.

\----

There was a tint of blue dusting his cheeks at the nickname. But he didn’t comment nor was he opposed to it. It was … endearing. 

He was moved to lie down with Edge and Red, and Sans found himself curling and tucking his head on Edge’s shoulder. 

Rest was good. 

Plans could wait. 

And Sans closed his eyes, slipping into a comfortable and dreamless sleep for the first time in a long time. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All of chapter 3 from RP is posted :)

**Author's Note:**

> The original chapter cut was super long!! For the sake of my sanity, I have divided it to shorter portions. Please be patient with me. 
> 
> Added Note: This is an incomplete RP! And my partner is on break!  
> However, I was given permission to finish it as it's very close to the end. I will add the appropriate note for when that chapter and time comes. :)


End file.
